Breaking the Boundaries
by goddessoftheexotic
Summary: ON HIATUS Post Season 2 Finale. Elena tries to comprehend her life after the loss of Jenna, drawing on Ric for comfort and something more. Elena/Alaric with some Elena/Stefan background loosely following the events of Season 3. I will finish this when my life becomes less hectic. It won't be left unfinished forever I promise.
1. Chapter 1

Post Season 2 Finale. Elena tries to comprehend her life after the loss of Jenna, drawing on Ric for comfort. Elena/Alaric with some Elena/Stefan.

I almost lost Damon tonight. And I have literally lost Stefan.

I have no idea where he could be and how Klaus will make him pay for the cure. Or even if Katherine is telling the truth, especially considering how out of character that would be for her.

As I shut the front door and leaned back on it I slumped in defeat. I have so many emotions rampaging through my head, I just want to stop feeling. I want to make the pain go away and feel nothing. At least if I were a vampire I could flick the switch.

There was something off with the living room, a light on but the house was completely silent. I saw Ric sitting there on the couch, completely moribund staring into the bottom of his glass of bourbon.

This sight brought home for me the utter despair that I have been trying to fight the last few days. Sitting with Damon on his deathbed, confessions and kissing to boot, I realised how selfish I have been. I know now that I love both Stefan and Damon, but this is my family. The man sitting in front of me has lost everything, his wife, his girlfriend and so many of his ideals, that he has finally broken.

Without saying a word I retrieved a glass from the kitchen, poured myself a nip, sliding the ice cubes around in the tumbler. I sat down next to him for just a second, then gave in and burrowed into his side.

He looked down as if realising I was there for the first time and acceptingly put his arm around me. We sat there for hours, going through a full bottle, without ever saying a word.

I felt so relieved to have someone there who understood what I was going through, he didn't need to talk it out either. There was nothing to say.

I had lost my father and my aunt and he had lost his girlfriend, the only family either of us had left but for Jeremy.

I woke up the next morning with my head feeling very fuzzy and a crook in my neck. I started to move to get up before realising I was meeting resistance. There was an arm trapping me. I looked up to see Ric sleeping with his head on the arm rest of my couch, one arm holding me as if he never wanted to let go.

We must have drunk so much that we had just passed out on the couch.

Although Ric and I had never been particularly touchy feely in our relationship, he had always been there for me as a friend and protector. Maybe even more. He has taken on the role of father figure quite well in the last few months, helping Jenna in her futile attempt to raise teenagers.

I poked him in the ribs, albeit softly, quietly saying "Ric, wake up. It's morning already."

He stirred slightly and tightened his hold on me as he stretched.

"Morning. Elena, what are you doing here?" He went to withdraw his arm, but I placed a hand to stop him.

"Don't." He relaxed back into the couch and pulled me in tighter again.

I felt everything he was feeling in that embrace and I didn't want to lose that connection. He understood exactly what I was feeling in that moment as well and we both quietly reflected on all that we had lost, while holding onto the only comfort we had left. I let the silent tears create a damp spot on his t-shirt while my body shook trying to keep it in. When he looked at me I saw his eyes were also red and there were tears that he would never let fall.

Eventually I disentangled myself and stood to face the new day. I turned to the kitchen, looking futilely towards the kitchen as if by some miracle, when I turned around Jenna would be there smiling at me, making coffee at the bench.

My face dropped as I realised that there was no one else there except Jeremy, probably asleep upstairs.

I looked at Ric, his eyes expressing what I was feeling, more than anything words could ever say.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi Guys, I don't have a beta, so I own all my own mistakes. Constructive criticism is appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.

Just functioning day to day seems like so much more effort now. I know I should be relying on my friends, let Bonnie and Caroline in, but avoidance seems to be what I now do best.

I wish I could talk to Stefan about Jenna and John but now he is gone too. Damon seems to be living life as normal and Ric is just drowning his sorrows at the Grille as per usual.

I feel like there is something I should be doing, rather than just wallow in my misery. I have decided to enlist Bonnie and Caroline to help me find Stefan. If that is even possible. Klaus seems to be fairly good at hiding when he wants to. I'm just hoping he doesn't.

Even though I could drive, a walk to the Grille seems like the best way to clear my head, while also being the most likely place to find Caroline and Bonnie.

As I enter, I automatically look towards the pool tables in back, keeping an eye out for my friends. My eye catches at the bar and I see Ric, eyes focused on his drink, oblivious to the world around him. He is sitting there all alone, without even Damon for company and my heart aches thinking about just how often he may have been doing that lately.

He took a sideways glance at me when I sat next to me and slid his glass towards me. I'm pretty sure it was to say 'I've had enough. Stop me', but I knocked back the drink in one mouthful while he stared at me open mouthed.

"You know you're beyond underage. You're only seventeen for Christ's sake."

"I know." I replied.

"I think you're a little too young to become a day drinker. Or a drinker at all for that matter."

"Well it seems to be working for you."

"It's not." Ric sighed. "It really really isn't. The pain is still there, it's just my vision that is blurred, not the memories."

I felt for him then, more than I had in recent times. This was a man that was not coping at all. Even his normal vices couldn't cut it, but he had no other solution.

"Ric?"

"Yep?"

"Let's get out of here. Come back to our place, you can sleep it off on the couch."

He stood, shakily.

I wouldn't let him drive and wouldn't drive myself, so we slowly wandered back to the Gilbert residence on foot.

"I wish I had been there" Ric mumbled.

It came out of nowhere.

"Been where?"

"With Jenna. Maybe he would have taken me instead?"

"No, he wouldn't have. It was revenge and spite that made him take her."

I wanted to talk about anything else. Jenna's death weighed heavily on my conscience as well.

"It was my fault that he took her. And Damon's. But if it wasn't Jules and Jenna, it would have been Tyler and Caroline. There is no right answer."

This was the first I had talked of this. Saying that out loud, I realised that it truly wasn't the fault of any one person. Sans Klaus.

I spoke again, stronger this time. "It was _Klaus' _fault! Not ours. I've spent so much time being sad and regretful, when I just should have been angry."

We had arrived home. I helped Alaric into the living room and we both collapsed on the couch.

I continued, "All the people I missing, Jenna, John, Stefan, are all due to Klaus!"

Ric looked up at me with a soft expression in his eyes. "How are you doing about Stefan?"

"Not good" I replied honestly. "I just don't know what happened to him. I have to believe he isn't dead but he has literally disappeared. I want to talk to him but he just isn't here."

"I'm not sure what is worse. Knowing your girlfriend is a dead vampire that was sacrificed to create a monster or not knowing whether your boyfriend is dead or just a slave to said monster. We make a pair. Elena," he looked into my eyes "I really hope we can find Stefan. He is one of the good ones and you deserve that."

I hugged him, a full body hug that I just didn't want to let go of. He gathered me into him arms and we sat like that on the couch for a few minutes.

I looked up at him. "Déjà vu? All we need is some bourbon and I'm pretty sure we've been here before."

He chuckled. "I have a stash. Third cupboard from the fridge in the kitchen. Behind the onions."

I got up to retrieve said alcohol. "I'm pretty sure you're corrupting a minor here." I batted my eyelashes. "I'm just an impressionable young thing, not yet eighteen and you're giving me hard liquor?"

"Pretty sure you're just as jaded as anyone Elena, you just don't have the wrinkles to prove it. "

I poured us each a shot before I sat down again. "Together then?"

"To the demise of Klaus" One shot down.

"To finding Stefan" Two shots down.

"To love" Three shots down. I was starting to feel it.

"To us" Shots number four. I looked at Ric at the same time he looked at me.

I leaned in, unsure what exactly it was that I was doing.

"Elena?"

"Yes?"

"What are you...?" I leaned in and closed that final gap. His lips felt warm on mine and I could taste the combined liquor on my tongue. It felt so right and so wrong at the same time. I was in love with _Stefan. _I was looking for _Stefan. _He was mourning the loss of my aunt.

He pulled back abruptly. "Elena, no. We can't. God, I'm your _teacher." _He looked so repulsed.

I felt unbelievably guilty. "Ric, I am so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I think I'll just go to bed. Are you still OK sleeping on the couch? Oh God, can we please just forget that ever happened?"

He looked conflicted for a moment before he smiled softly again at me. "Of course, goodnight Elena."


	3. Chapter 3

Breaking the boundaries Chapter 3

Warm bed, comfy doona, I slowly woke to find myself in my own bed. I had the pleasant floating feeling of waking up from a truly excellent dream but unable to remember any of it.

Then I sat bolt upright as I remembered the events from last night. I kissed Ric! Oh my god. How am I supposed to face him now?

I moved to get up and the room spun. I had forgotten about the bourbon.

Maybe he won't remember anything. Oh please, please don't remember anything. I put my hands together towards the ceiling, as if praying might erase what I had done last night in my drunken stupor.

Well I can't hide out here forever so I got ready and went downstairs to face the music. And found that no one was home but me. I also happened to be mega late to school.

I arrived at school just in time for second period. History, great. As I walked into the classroom I looked everywhere but towards the teachers desk.

"Hey Elena" Bonnie greeted "How are you? I know it can't be easy."

"Thanks Bonnie, it isn't. Actually can we talk after school? With Caroline too? I need some sisterly advice about..."

Ric chose this moment to speak up. "OK class, enough with the chit chat. Today we will be talking about the civil war and the impact it had on small southern towns. Not quite unlike ourselves"

History passed in a slow blur of sneaking glances at Ric to find he was ignoring me completely. I honestly didn't hear a thing he said and was extremely relieved to hear the bell ring to signal the end of class.

However I wasn't to be so lucky. "Elena! Can you please stay after class?"

I slumped, so close. Bonnie looked back at me, raising her eyebrows.

"Bonnie you can go ahead, I've got this."

I stood in front of Ric, looking at the ground, waiting for him to make the first move.

He put a hand under my chin and raised my eyes to meet his. "Elena, I know you told me to forget everything that happened last night, but that is never going to happen while you are acting as though there is a giant elephant in the room. Initially I agreed with you, but you seem unable to do so yourself. I can handle many things, but I can't lose you too. Not after everything we have been through these past few days."

I felt myself relax and realised just how unfair I had been on him."I'm so sorry Ric. I didn't mean to shut you out. You have been here for me and I want to be there for you too. I'm just so embarrassed." I could hardly look him in the eye again.

"Elena, there is nothing to be embarrassed about. Nothing happened, OK?"

"OK" I meekly replied.

"Now I fully expect you to be home when I get there and we are eating together tonight, as a family. Tell Jeremy it is not optional. If we want to recover, family night definitely has to make a comeback."

I left with a smile and the rest of the day passed without guilt or shame. Ric had decided to forget about it, actually forget and not avoid. His maturity in handling the situation seemed to give weight to his point. He was actively picking up the father role in my life, and definitely not angling for a romantic one.

Wasn't that part of my life complicated enough? I have a missing boyfriend and kissed my boyfriends brother. Which reminds me that I really do have to talk to Damon as well.

I met with Bonnie and Caroline at a cafe in town. Caroline ran at me and gave me a bone crushing hug. "Elena! Oh, I've missed you!" Caroline's voice dropped as if suddenly remembering that I might have things on my mind. "Are you doing alright? You seem to be holding up pretty well all things considering."

"Well, yes and no. I need to keep busy, which is good because I also need to find Stefan."

The girls shot each other furtive glances that I pretended not to notice.

"I know that he isn't dead" I continued. "He can't be. Klaus must have taken him somewhere. I need you guys to help me find him."

"Of course will help you" said Caroline, glancing at Bonnie. "Won't we Bonnie?"

"Of course. We're best friends, we will do anything that you need us to."

I entered the boarding house cautiously, looking for Damon. I needed his information and his help if I ever wanted to get Stefan back.

"Damon, I need your help" I sighed.

He looked up from his book, pretending like he hadn't know I was there all along. "Oh, If only I had a dollar..." He waggled his eyebrows at me. "Just couldn't stay away huh? You know I have Andie now right? But I'm sure she wouldn't mind sharing" he leered.

"Uggh, Damon you are disgusting. No, I want to find Stefan. I need your help and you need mine. I know you're feeling guilty about him going to save your life. You have to help me find him."

"I don't have to do _anything _Elena. That is the beauty of being me. No rules and all." He paused. "And what makes you believe that I need _your_ help? I don't need your help Elena."

"OK, maybe you don't need my help, but I'm going to give it to you anyway. I know you're looking for him. Have you found anything yet?"

He paused dramatically and fell into the couch. "Fine, fine. Yes, I'm looking for him. No I haven't found him. Are you sure you want him back? You have never known the ripper Stefan and from what Katherine said, Klaus forced him right over the edge."

I gasped. "Of course I want him back Damon! What kind of a question is that anyway? I'm not giving up" I said indignantly.

"Well then, you're not going to like what I have to say. I have been tracking them. They are leaving a deluge of bodies all over the country. I have seen it with my own eyes."

"Klaus is killing openly? I thought he was trying to stay hidden."

"Not just Klaus. My brother has a certain style that is instantly recognisable. He is even admired for it, by some."

I sat down, hard, on the couch. No, not Stefan. But it wasn't his fault. Klaus had made him do these things." He wasn't in his right mind, if I could just get him home..."

"No, Elena. You are not going anywhere near him. Have your listened to anything I have said. He is gone. He is killing. Lots and lots of people. He is a ripper. Do you even remember the last time he got just a taste of human blood?" He looked at me pointedly. "I will get him back Elena, and once I have him all locked up so that he can't chomp on you, I will let you visit."

I left after that. I really don't know how I'm feeling. There is just so much to comprehend. I guess my state is fairly close to shock. All sensations and emotions swirling in my head without the necessary higher brain function necessary to process them.

I walked into the house to a wonderful sight. Ric and Jeremy were cooking in the kitchen together, smiling even occasionally laughing. Of course Jeremy still had that haunted look about his eyes and Ric had a glass of whiskey in his hand but this was the closest to normal we had been in days.

I felt my body relax and I went over and gave Jeremy a full body hug. He held me tight, then looked down at me. "You know, you can't just show up late to family night. There will be consequences" he chuckled.

He held me with one hand and tickled me under the ribs with the other. I was laughing so hard I almost cried. "Jeremy! Let go of me!"

He slung me over his shoulder and took both hands off me. I swung there precariously, watching the ground swing towards me then away again. "Put me down NOW Jeremy" I laughed.

"You said to let go! How am I supposed to put you down without holding you?" He reluctantly placed me back on the ground.

I turned to Ric who was still cooking with flour on his cheek and a massive grin across his face.

For the first time I felt like we could recover. We could come back from this. This is my family now and we have to be there for each other.

Dinner was fun and light hearted, no one willing to bring up all the darkness that plagued our lives. We were a normal family, having a normal dinner.

Jeremy went upstairs to do his homework while Ric and I started on the dishes.

"How was your day?" he asked as he passed me a soapy tumbler to dry.

"I'd rather not talk about it. We are having such a good night." A beat passed in silence before I spoke again.

"It's Stefan. Damon has been tracking him and.."

"Oh, you know." He sounded resigned.

"I know _what_? What do you know that you're not telling me?" I demanded.

"That Stefan has gone off the rails. That Damon thinks it will be decades before he can recover from this even if he stops now" he mumbled softly, not looking at me.

I slumped against the kitchen counter, dishes forgotten. "Decades? What are you talking about? He's only been gone a few days. How do you know all this? Why haven't you told me anything?"

"I'm both a vampire hunter and Damon's best friend Elena. I have been helping him. Quite honestly I didn't think you could handle any more right now than what has already been dumped on you."

I stood up to my fullest height and stared him down. "I can handle it Ric. I can handle almost anything. I think that I have proven that. "

" I'm sorry, I should have told you but I just thought you had enough to deal with at the moment, with Jenna, John and even Damon. I know how rough you have it and I just couldn't add to it."

I looked up at him with tears in my eyes. He was right. I did have enough to deal with and this could be that final straw that I just couldn't. His eyes spoke volumes as he looked at me with regret, apologies and _pity? _"I don't need your pity Ric" I said angrily, wiping my eyes hurriedly with the back of my hand.

He didn't say anything, he just pulled me into a fierce hug and let me pretend that I wasn't once again crying into his shirt. I felt so safe just then, being held as if I could cry away my problems and forget the world existed beyond this comforting wall of muscle. He seemed to understand. It wasn't awkward at all. I continued to cry while he rubbed soothing circles on my back.

"I'm sorry" I mumbled against his chest.

"What? What for?"

"You're hurting just as much as I am, yet I'm the one being comforted."

He pulled back slightly and looked down at me. "Elena, I'm going to tell you a little secret about men. We can never admit to being weak or needy, we can't cry, we have to stand strong. A man takes his comfort in comforting you. A need to be needed, a pretence that our touch is protecting you, making you feel safe. It feeds our illusions that we look after you, when in reality I needed this hug as much as you did. The only way to ease pain is through the touch of a woman. That or hard liquor."

I let out a soggy chuckle as he released me. "I'm pretty sure that you have mastered the art of drinking away your sorrows. But if you ever need to feel all protector-y, you know where to find me. And, I happen to like your hugs"

He gently swept my hair behind my ears and cradled my face in his hands. The gesture was so intimate and yet so innocent. I could feel a changing dynamic, I just couldn't define it. I loved this man, of that I was sure. I just didn't know in what capacity. A father? Not quite. A friend? Definitely. A lover? No. My feelings weren't romantic, despite that kiss. And the fact that he was _hot._ It was more a sense of belonging to him, like he was the chief of my tribe, the man of my house. I did feel protected and loved.

"Alaric?"

"Yes Elena?"

"It's not an illusion. You do protect me. You make me feel safe and loved. Not a small feat in this vampire world either" I smiled.

His face broke out in a huge smile that was infectious. "Thank you Elena. You have no idea how much that means to me."

We both went to bed happy that night, relaxed and comfortable in the knowledge that we were truly needed by the other.


	4. Chapter 4

Breaking the Boundaries Chapter 4

A week has passed since Stefan went missing. A whole _week _ with nothing but stories of his massacres passed second-hand through a reluctant Damon.

He will never just come out and say it, but every time I see him, there is a little more pain behind his brilliant blue eyes. Honestly, I don't understand why this is hurting Damon. He is a killer, he likes killing. I have a slight niggling feeling that his pain is for either me or Stefan. He knows that both Stefan and I would be repulsed by the monster he has become. But the ability to love has always been Damon's biggest strength and weakness simultaneously.

As is now the summer holidays, I now seem to have endless time to worry about all the things in my life I should probably not be thinking about, ever.

After another disappointing trip to the boarding house, I am so disheartened and downtrodden. I just want to DO something!

Ric is reading back at the house, a seemingly endless hobby for him. One he seems to be sticking to pretty consistently these holidays.

"Don't you ever get sick of just sitting in that same chair day after day reading crap you have already read a thousand times?" I yelled as I paced in front of him.

He looked up, surprised as hell at my uncharacteristic outburst. "Well someone's got your knickers in a knot. This is a classic." He held up his book for me to see. "Pretty sure I had to wait for you to finish reading it, before you would hand it over." He put the book down and stood up. "What is really wrong Elena?"

The wind was knocked out of my sails a little by this, I was itching for a fight. About something! "All this sitting around doing nothing is driving me crazy. I want to help Stefan, but Damon won't let me do anything. He is being a complete ass! Sorry about before, you know" I gestured towards the book "I really do like it. I was cranky, I want to do something, hit something, you know?"

"Dainty little Elena, spoiling for a fight? I never thought I'd see the day." He stood up and put his shirt on. He then went over to the hall cupboard and started unloading weapons.

I received a look that I knew was supposed to mean something but I had no idea what. "Well? Go upstairs and change. You'll need some shorts and a tank or gym pants. Something comfortable" Ric said as if he hadn't just completely flipped.

"What are you.."

He stopped me. "Elena, don't ask questions. Go and get changed, you're the one looking for a little action."

I was so surprised by this change in him that I just did as I was told. I thought about what he wanted me to do. He had packed weapons, were we going vampire hunting? Sounds a little dangerous to me. What should I wear for that? Black on black seemed the best bet if I was taking a leaf out of Damon's book.

Suddenly 'looking for a little action' slipped into my head. He didn't mean.. No, Alaric would never suggest something like that. I felt my belly squish a little at the thought and the perfect outfit came to mind.

"ELENA! What is taking you so god damned long? We're leaving NOW!"

I hadn't realised I had been taking so long, or that Ric was so pissed. I ran down the stairs and ran straight into him as he came out of the kitchen holding four water bottles.

"Omigod, Ric I'm so sorry" I squeaked.

"No problem, just get in the car."

After we had been driving for a while, the silence became a little awkward, at least on my behalf.

"Ric? Where are we going?" No answer.

We continued on for another ten minutes before we pulled into a forest clearing and Ric started unloading weapons. As it was daylight and we were totally alone I assumed that we wouldn't be hunting vampires.

"Alright, we are going to vent some of your frustration and mine. I am going to teach you how to hunt." It all started to make sense now. Why didn't I think of that before? "You are obviously having a hard time of it and this should help you defend yourself as well as allow you to wail on something that isn't me." He shot a half smile at me before it suddenly dropped. "Actually, come to think of it, you _will _be wailing on me. "

I giggled, he just sounded so _stupid!_

He laid out all the weapons on the ground.

"OK. So, I would like you to chose your enemy first. What are you most afraid of?"

I answered before I even processed the thought. "Stefan."

We were both surprised at this answer. Shouldn't it have been Klaus?

Ric took a deep breath, as though forcing himself not to react, or say something stupid. Again.

"Well take a look at all the weapons available. Which do you think would be of most use against Stefan?"

I looked them all over. There were stakes, home-made stake crossbows, vervain grenades, wolfs bane grenades, wrist holsters and dart guns.

"I think the vervain grenade and the wrist holster with stakes."

"Good. Why?" He replied. He sounded so much like a soldier that I wanted to laugh at him. But I didn't, I took a deep breath and though hard about each of Stefan's weaknesses. "Vervain, because no matter that he keeps drinking it, he always react badly when it gets on his skin. On ropes, in the well. You get the picture."

"Good, I agree." Thank god. Soldier Ric was intimidating.

"The stakes are the best way to incapacitate him because he would never expect it, especially hidden under my sleeve. A cross bow or gun he would hear as it was released and react too quickly. Even if I was close enough to stake him, he would never believe I had or would until it had already happened. " I reasoned

"Good thinking. It's true Stefan has caught stakes before when they were shot at him. And that he would never expect this from _you. _" He pulled me over to a bag of metal bits and glass bottles. "First I'm going to show you how to assemble and arm a grenade. No explosive, obviously, I'm not trying to kill you."

Grenades in theory sounds really exciting but in reality they are fiddly and boring. This was doing absolutely nothing to curb my recent aggressive tendencies. After I had put together, armed then disabled about ten of them, I was so frustrated . "Ric I am BORED! I want to stake something now!"

He looked up and smiled. "Well this should be fun." He went over to the pile and dug out some wrist holsters. But then he threw the stakes back.

"What are you _doing?" _I shouted at him. "I want to stake something."

"Well you just can't. We're starting out with a moving target. That would be me. If you stake me, I will be dead and I don't have a ring anymore so that would be bad" he snarked at me.

I couldn't argue there. At least I got to hit something. Even if it did happen to be Ric.

He showed me the correct way to hold my hands and body to release the stake with as much force as possible. After I had gone over the moves, for what seemed like the hundredth time he finally deemed me ready.

As I stood facing him off he smiled at me putting me completely off guard. It wasn't one of his normal 'Ric the nice guy' smiles. It was cunning and devious, like he had something planned for me. I smiled back, today was the day for a real fight, no padding for me.

I made the first move. I quickly darted in towards his left side, aiming for stomach. I stayed light on my feet like he had taught me, but unsurprisingly he blocked it and moved away. I frowned, he could have easily turned that defence into an attack, but he didn't. "Ric, don't hold back on me. I want this. I want you to be him. Think like him. It's the only way." He shrugged his shoulders in reply "If you insist." He still didn't move in, so I made another attack. This time I struck him, straight into the stomach. If it really had have been Stefan, this would be best case scenario. I relaxed and crowed in victory. He snatched me from behind and stood body to body with me, one hand across my shoulders and the other exposing my neck as he went to bite down.

"Elena, do you see the mistake you made here? You struck but then you didn't get out fast enough. You need to stay out of reach or your dead."

I didn't respond. My heart felt like it was beating out my chest. He still hadn't let go and as he talked his breath blew over the spot he had just 'bitten'. There was the tiniest wet spot left by his mouth, but it was enough to give me Goosebumps.

I felt a sudden rush of desire that I had never felt with Stefan. I could feel _every _part of his body pressed up against me when I stopped to just enjoy the experience. I even leaned in a little, to gain a better appreciation. He sucked in a audible breath as I did and I felt the slightest nudge against my backside, signalling his apparent attraction.

He whirled me around quickly and said "Well that would probably work. Considering it _is_ Stefan. But don't think that using your body would work on every vampire, especially if you have already been bitten. I think we are done for today."

What? He thought that was a tactical move for the fight? That man is so far in denial it would probably take a sledgehammer approach just to make him realise it. I _felt _him. He was definitely into it.

Our relationship is complicated at best, but we already live together. Basically if you added sex to our equation we would be married.

Well after today I was sure. I was definitely attracted to him. He had gut wrenching, skin tingling, goosebump-y sex appeal. Knowing that I wasn't alone in these feelings did much for my confidence. I would have him.

Game on Mr. Saltzman, game on.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks to the few of you who are actually reading this story. Please feel free to give your opinion. I am open to _constructive _criticism (it makes me a better writer), directions you would like this to head or just requests for more. If you ask me to continue, I always will, at least until the story is marked as complete.

As always, I do not own the vampire diaries.

* * *

Breaking the Boundaries Chapter 5.

I have to admit, I have never really had any need to be a seductress. Or more specifically, to learn to be a _deliberate _seductress.

With Matt and I, it was a natural progression from childhood friend to first boyfriend. Stefan was an instant fire, he really didn't put up too much resistance.

Again being arrogant perhaps, I know that Ric is attracted to me. His looks and actions speak for themselves. It seems that the biggest hurdle to overcome is to make him _admit _it. Maybe even admit it to himself.

Seeing as how none of my more subtle hints have motivated him, I think it might be time to turn up the heat.

* * *

I haven't given up on Stefan completely. He _will _come back and we will help him. Damon and I both want to have a normal, bunny-eating, semi-boring Stefan back. I still love him and I am going to everything I can to help Damon get him back.

But _I _don't want him back anymore. How can you be in love with something you are scared of? He is dangerous, temperamental, heart less. Even if he came back and he went back to normal, _we _wouldn't be back to normal.

This new discovery of mine, the 'not forever' Stefan and Elena plan is a lot easier to accept now that I have my sights set elsewhere. If nothing else, making this decision makes me feel a little less guilty about pursuing Ric while technically, I haven't actually broken up with Stefan.

I haven't seen or heard from him at all. While Damon isn't usually the most reliable source of information, I believe everything he says. He has nothing to gain by lying and I can see the pain on his face every time he tells me about the latest of Stefan's grotesque actions. The flirting is minimal and he actually seems to be happy with Andie. There are no angles to be played here, I think he just wants me to understand that I'm not going to get my boyfriend back anytime soon. He didn't mention to me the decades he did to Ric, but at least now I know he's thinking them.

* * *

Ric is always hesitant to talk about whatever he sees on his trips with Damon. He just got home and no surprises here, went straight for the bourbon.

He sat down next to me and stared at the TV (which was off) for about 5 solid minutes before he even looked like he was thinking about relaxing.

"Want to talk about it?" I asked him tentatively.

"No" he said bluntly, and went back into stare mode.

"Was it to do with Stefan?"

"Yes"

Well I really wasn't getting anywhere here.

"Did you see him? Did you find any clues?" I barrelled on, hoping for something at least to give us a reason to keep looking.

"Elena! What part of 'I don't want to talk about it' don't you understand?" he barked at me. I looked at him then, mostly in shock and saw that he really wasn't looking well. It was more than his normal 'I've had a bad day and need a drink'. He looked _old_ and tired, much more than normal. I now want to know more than anything, just what exactly Ric had seen or done on his trip with Damon to make him like this, but I couldn't bring myself to put him through any more. Against my nature, I let it go. Not permanently, mind you. I fully intend to find out everything, but it could wait.

"I would offer to cook dinner for you, but we both know I don't do that. So which frozen pizza would you like me to reheat for you? Hawaiian or Meat lovers?" I wasn't sure whether he would go for the subject change.

He looked like he wanted to yell at me some more for a minute, but then he sat back into the chair and stared at the blank TV again. "Meatlovers" he said grudgingly, not turning around.

I smiled to myself. It was hardly a question worth asking, only Jeremy ever had Hawaiian but at least he was no longer yelling at me. I have to say, my seduction plan was failing miserably. When was a girl supposed to work her magic when it is always doom and gloom and possibly murderous not-quite-so-ex boyfriends.

The oven beeped me out of my self-pity and I set the table for two with the pizza in the middle.

Venturing into the living room, I saw Ric had finally turned on the TV, but was obviously not watching the animated children's characters ambling across the screen.

"Ric? Pizza's ready. On the table, actually."

He looked up in surprise, as if no time had passed since I left to get it ready.

"Already? Alright let's eat!" He said enthusiastically, as though I would forget that he had been a walking zombie for the past half hour.

Seeing this for the opportunity that it was, I decided to ignore his quick turnaround and go with the flow. If he wanted to act like there was nothing wrong then who was I to stop him?

I smiled at him as though tonight were any other night and started off the conversation, as per usual, with "How was your day?"

He froze. I backpedaled fast. "I, I mean my day was great, although Caroline kept going on and on about this stupid dress she wants, she's trying to make me go to Richmond with her to look at it. Who can be bothered driving all the way to Richmond for a damned dress?" I was babbling, I have no idea of the words currently coming out of my mouth, just that anything was better than acknowledging that, yes, I actually _am _that stupid and I don't think before I speak.

"Elena, stop. You are boring me to death. I don't care about Caroline and her stupid dress or Richmond or whatever else you have been blurting out at the speed of light. I think I'm OK to talk about my day now, but I really don't think you want to hear about it over dinner. Or ever. But if you really want to know, which I think you do, we will talk about it. OK?"

Really? He was going to tell me now? Apparently word vomit does have some uses.

"OK, that would be nice."

"It's not nice, especially if you want all the gory details. It is sick and twisted and ...after dinner" he broke off, obviously not wanting to think about it too much.

"Actually," he continued, "I don't think I want to finish this after all. I'll put mine in the fridge for now."

I felt pretty bad, putting him off his dinner and all, but I just don't know how to deal with this situation. I am not an adult, and sometimes even they don't know what to say sometimes. I remember my Mum once saying to me, "It's not what you say, it's how you say it and the intentions behind it. If your heart is pure, they will understand." My heart is definitely not pure, but I think I know what she meant. Ric didn't need or want to talk it out. He needed family, love and touch as he had once told me.

I put all the remaining food into the fridge and followed Ric back into the living room.

He was sitting there looking so forlorn my heart nearly stopped for him. Just as I had done time and again, I sat next to him and cuddled into his side. This time the need wasn't mutual. I didn't need him, but he needed me and this was the only way I could show him I cared without talking.

Slowly, his arm came over my shoulders and he tucked my head under his chin. His grip tightened and his arms stretched further around me. He gripped a handful of my hair and used it to push my head into his chest and kissed me on top of my head. I had never felt so close to someone before. He was sharing his pain with me, accepting my silent support.

I could feel his body beginning to relax beneath mine as his grip loosened. Still silent, I stood up from the couch and took his hand. I led him up the stairs and began to walk into my bedroom.

He pulled his hand back, "Elena, no. I'm not going to sleep with you."

"Yes, you are." He looked very taken aback at that. I rephrased, "You are going to _sleep _with me. Just sleep. I don't feel like sleeping on the couch with you, but tonight you need me. And I need you." I wasn't lying. I did need him now. Maybe not for the same reasons, but I just couldn't bear the thought of going up to bed and leaving him downstairs alone with his demons.

I went over to my dresser and took out a pair of pyjamas. "I'm going to the bathroom to put these on. You can get into bed now." I left no room for argument, leaving immediately.

When I returned, he was sitting up awkwardly in bed with no shirt on, looking very lost. I went around to the other side and got in. I threw my arms around him with my head on his chest, mimicking our position on the couch. He reached up and turned the light off before moving me back to my side. I was about to ask what the hell his problem was when he slid down the bed to rest his head on the pillow and repositioned me against himself.

I felt his arms go around me once more and I smiled as I drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: To those that have reviewed so far and asked for more, here it is. More reviews will equal more chapters, especially if I lose motivation. Sorry to all the Americans out there that use different spelling and grammar, but in Australia we use mostly British spelling. And some differences are just because I am human and I make mistakes :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire diaries.

* * *

Breaking the Boundaries Chapter 6

I woke the next morning to a feeling of comfort, love and warmth. Ric still had his arms around me and I lifted my head from his chest to see if he was awake I realised I had drooled on him. I met his eyes and laughed. He had obviously woken before me.

"Really Elena? Can't keep your bodily fluids to yourself?" he teased. He was grinning back at me, obviously delighted with this new ammunition.

"So Ric, who exactly were you planning on telling this to? I can't think of any situation you could make it sound plausible" I threw back.

He smile dropped a little. "Yeah, I really didn't think of that. Because, 'My student Elena drooled on my chest, while we were asleep in her bed' really doesn't have any appropriate audiences now that I think of it. The only person who would perhaps find it amusing, would be Damon. But he would laugh then castrate me. Or maybe castrate then laugh" he mused.

"Why would Damon castrate you? I hardly think he wants to protect the honour of his serial killer brother's girlfriend. He knows we live together now, it could happen. It _did _happen" I thought aloud.

"Seriously Elena? Are you blind? Damon is head over heels in love with you. Has been _forever. _Also, Damon doesn't think of platonic situations like this, Damon thinks bed = sex." Platonic situation? I have my work cut out for me here. Ric's head is buried so deep in the sand I could spend a week digging it out. But what?

"Damon isn't in love with me. He can't love me. He might have had an infatuation, but he's over it now. He has Andie" I defended.

"I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one." A pained look came over his face. "I think we should talk about Stefan now. About yesterday" he murmured.

A sat away from him a little so I could face him as we talked.

"We went to an address that we thought Stefan and Klaus would be interested in. We arrived too late. There was no sign of them anywhere, except in the mess they left behind. Or more specifically, in the mess that Stefan left behind" he started.

I interrupted, "Stefan left behind? Why would you think that it was Stefan?"

"Well Damon went in first, a bad omen in and of itself. He found the bodies sitting up on the couch. I asked him the same question, why would he think Stefan was behind this? He kicked a body in answer and it fell apart. All the pieces fell all over the floor." He sounded hollow. Empty. Cold. I couldn't believe this. How is that proof that Stefan did anything?

"But..."

"Damon said that is his signature move, he goes crazy and rips them apart, but then puts them back together when he comes out of the blood lust and feels sorry."

I don't know what to think. All I can think is 'Stefan wouldn't do that'. But, as I am slowly beginning to realise, there are too many things that I don't know about Stefan. God, how many times did he have to have done that for it to become a 'signature'.

I close my eyes against the visual. "Stop", I urged Ric. "Please stop, you were right. I don't want to hear any of this."

I went back to his side and buried my face between his pillow and his shoulder. I felt sick. And poor Ric. Imagine having to see that, see _them. _The blood, the body parts. Knowing that one of the people you considered a friend had done that to a human being. No wonder he looked like that when he came home.

I felt a sudden overwhelming sorrow. I'm not sure who for. The dead girls? Myself? Ric? Damon? Stefan himself?

The sobs wracked through my body, uncontrolled, uninhibited. What are you supposed to do when your boyfriend becomes a murdering psychopath? How are you supposed to react? Suddenly I felt slightly justified in my tears.

Ric said nothing more. He did for me what I had done for him last night. He held me until I stopped crying and dozed into a much less pleasant and unnecessary sleep.

* * *

Around 10 I woke up alone. My head was stuffy, my eyes were puffy and I had that awful feeling of oversleeping. I didn't need to go back to sleep earlier, it was just the easiest option, easier than facing reality. But I think that option was gone for good.

A sudden burst of indignant rage came over me. I have lost nearly everything I had to lose. Now is not the time to be sad and mourn. Now is the time to move on with my life. I have a few very clear goals. The main one is to bring Stefan back off the cliff he seems to want to jump off. The second is Ric. I want him. Simple as that.

Now was as good a time as any to get in some training. Going for a run would use up some of that energy, but I really wanted a fight.

Downstairs, Ric was fixing the sink. He popped his head out from inside the cupboard when he heard me come in.

"Morning sleepy head" he teased. Fine, if he wanted to ignore the soggy mess I had been this morning then so would I.

"Morning. I see your going for the sexy handyman look today. Should have gone for the plumber look, I wouldn't have minded a little butt crack this morning" I joked. He surreptitiously pulled up the back of him pants a little more.

I laughed out loud. But I wasn't really joking. He looked _good. _Really good. If he didn't put on a shirt soon I was going to have to take matters into my own hands.

"Yeah well, I just finished. I've been trying to keep busy all morning. Can you think of anything else you need your 'sexy handyman' to do while he's here" he asked, using air quotes and all. I really wanted to laugh, but my brain and my libido were on different wavelengths. I could think of quite a few things I needed him to do, none of which had anything to do with fixing the house.

Using his worst timing, ever, Jeremy decided at that moment to enter the kitchen.

"What's this about a sexy handyman?" he asked while going to the fridge. He stopped and looked between us. "Oh, no. Not you two? Oh, is this house gonna get gross now?"

Ric stepped back with his hands held up in front of him. "What? No. No, no, no. I was just fixing the sink."

So much for progress. Am I a leper? Such a strong denial.

"Oh Thank God" said Jeremy. "You really had me worried for a second there. In that case yeah. One of my wardrobe doors won't close properly. I think it might be the hinge, but Dad never got up to teaching me about fixing hinges. I know I have to tighten some screws and loosen others, but I have no idea which ones." He snapped Ric on the butt with a tea towel. "Come on, Mr Sexy. Teach a boy how to be a man? Or at least how to fix his own cupboards?"

"Well I suppose I could manage that" Ric said. Then he straightened up and stood tall with his chest puffed out, putting on a deep voice. "But I can't teach you how to be sexy while doing it son. That is an attitude, you can't just learn. You have to feel it. live it, be it."

Both Jeremy and I burst out laughing. Ric joined in too after a second. They went upstairs to Jeremy's room and I changed my mind about fighting. I wanted to laugh. I wanted to have fun. I really really wanted to do more than _sleep_ with Ric.

I headed upstairs for a change of clothes to go along with my change of heart. It was summer after all. Doesn't that call for a bikini for all occasions?


	7. Chapter 7

Warning: This chapter caused me to change the rating to M.

Breaking the Boundaries Chapter 7

I came downstairs in my bikini, a towel over one arm headed for some sun in the backyard. I could hear Jeremy and Ric laughing in his room and felt happy for the first time in a long time. Jeremy needs someone who can make him laugh. Teach him things. He needs a man to look up to. Maybe that is where he went wrong after our parent's died. The drugs, the attitude, he definitely wasn't ready to stand up as man of the house, even when Jenna and I needed him to.

As I laid out on my towel in the sun, I realised that I could do this. Take pleasure in life's simplicities. I don't have a book to read to music to listen to, but I can feel the sun on my skin and hear the noises of nature. Birds, crickets, frogs, the wind in the grass. For the first time in what felt like forever I felt truly relaxed.

Laying there, I had forgotten all about my seduce Ric plan. I had forgotten about everything for a moment, to tell the truth.

"Mind if I join you?"

I squinted against the sun to see Ric standing there holding a towel and wearing a pair of shorts. Apparently my plans only work when I stop trying so hard.

"Sure"

He laid his towel down right next to mine. After a few minutes I could sense him also relaxing and getting into that same head space I was currently occupying. This was how it should be. No current life or death situation. No one trying to kill me.

I stretched lazily and accidentally grazed him with my hand. Rather than pull back immediately, he gently took my hand in his. We laid there together for a long time. I stopped my mind from going into analytical overdrive and just let myself relax, just feel and enjoy the sun and his hand in mine.

A cloud went over the sun, giving a sudden chill to my still hot skin.

In that moment I knew. This was my chance, my make or break moment.

I rolled over towards Ric, and leaned over his body. His eyes were still closed, as though if he didn't open them, the sun might come back and this moment could continue indefinitely.

Just do it, I told myself. The phrase 'served on a silver platter' came to mind. I was never going to get a better opportunity.

I pushed his hair up off his forehead and framed his face with both hands. He opened his eyes and looked at me startled. There was a flash of panic across his face for a few seconds before it faded into a warm and happy smile. He had obviously accepted whatever was about to happen.

I leaned forward, my face only inches from his as I looked him straight in the eyes. I couldn't see any signs of resistance, of struggle, but I still couldn't bring myself to close that gap. There was no going back from this. No excuses to be made. Neither of us had been drinking. There was no sudden attack, it was like gravity was pulling us together, but giving us both plenty of chances to back out.

Just as I had decided to give up, that I was stupid for even starting this, he lifted his head and kissed me.

It was electric. I could feel him let go of all the reasons that he couldn't, shouldn't do this and let himself enjoy the experience.

His lips were soft at first, gentle, loving. As I responded he kissed me deeper. His tongue crossed from his mouth to mine, drinking me in, going as far as it could.

It obviously wasn't enough for him. He flipped me over so his body was over mine and I got the feeling that he was a man that was used to being in charge. He held his weight off me with his arms and I felt completely enclosed. He was protecting me from the world with his body, while his mouth claimed me as his. Boy, the man could kiss.

He shifted his weight to one side and supported himself on one forearm as he let his other hand gently trail down my body. He gently caressed the skin of my waist before moving back up towards the underside of my breast. When his hand closed over the skimpy bikini top I moaned into his mouth and bucked my hips into his.

As they touched, I felt his hardness brush against me and I realised that this was heading in a direction that was not entirely appropriate for the backyard.

"Ric, stop." He looked down at me, confused, with lust in his eyes. He had truly let himself go and now colour started to rise in his cheeks.

"Oh my god Elena. I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. This is so inappropriate" he apologised.

"Don't apologise to me Ric, I started this. I wanted this. I still want this." He looked at my face in more confusion. "But then why did you tell me to stop?" he questioned.

"Because we were getting very close to the point of no return and I would feel very uncomfortable crossing that line, right here, where anyone could see" I explained.

He looked around in understanding, as if suddenly realising where we were. In a surprising and unprecedented move he stood quickly and pulled me to my feet. Once upright, he swept me into a bridal hold and started towards the house, leaving the towels behind.

"Where are you taking me?" I giggled.

" I'll give you two guesses, but you'll probably only need one" he answered with a wink.

When we reached the bedroom, I expected him to put me down gently on the bed. Apparently though, his patience had reached its limit. He literally threw me onto the bed, from halfway across the room. I was about to whine indignantly of the rough treatment when he pounced on top of me again.

Any protest I was about to voice was swallowed by his mouth as he devoured mine. Any and all trace of soft, gentle, loving Ric was gone and replaced by this new man lying over me. Surprised though I was, I'm not complaining. This man was fueled by passion and fire. His kisses were electric. He peppered them over my face before moving down my neck and across my shoulders.

He turned rough again, kisses replaced by hungry bites to be laved over by his tongue. I had never experienced anything like this before, yet all we had done so far is make out. Stefan was always too gentle, loving me with respect and honour. But he never had this kind of passion and he _definitely _had never bitten me like this.

I was so consumed in him that I didn't realise he had removed my bikini top until I felt his hot, wet mouth close over a nipple. Arching my back up into him, feeling him against me, I was on fire. I'm not sure whether I'm spiralling up into ecstasy or down into hell, but I've decided that I just don't care.

I ran my hands under his chest, grabbing a handful of hair to pull him back up to my mouth.

He tilted his head back to look at me, surprised by the rough intervention. "You know, you're not the only one who can play dirty" I simpered at him.

With admittedly a huge effort on my part, I rolled us over so that I was sitting on top of his stomach, looking down at him.

He smirked up at me. "Well you've got me here. Now what are you going to do with me?" He had a lecherous grin on his face and I realised I was sitting on him wearing only a pair of bikini bottoms, bare breasted. And I didn't care. However I did care that he still seemed to be winning.

I scooched back until I could feel his erection brushing against my ass. He took in a sharp breath and I could feel my control of the situation returning. Looking him straight in the eye, I began rocking against it and caressing my own breasts with both hands. He made to get up to reach for me, but I put one hand in the middle of his chest and pushed him down again.

"Now, now tiger. Just relax and enjoy the show."

"Elena, if you don't stop that now, there is not going to _be _a show."

I looked down at his pained expression and thought that there was a possibility that he was right. He obviously had much more stamina than a teenager, but I might still have been pushing a little too far.

I lay down across him, now carefully avoiding the bulge in his shorts and sucked one of his nipples into my mouth. His hands splayed out across my back and worked their way down to my ass. As he cupped my ass with both hands I realised my mistake. He had total control of the weight of my body and used it to flip me over once more.

"Elena, you should just give up now. You're not going to win this round" he chuckled.

I poked my tongue out at him childishly. But all thoughts of trying to dominate, winning or losing left my mind as I felt him push himself against my centre.

I literally felt him snap.

He lost all control. His kisses tore over my upper body, sucking and biting at my chest and breasts. One hand was placed over my belly holding me in place while the other tore off the other half of my swimsuit. I have no idea if they are even still in one piece.

While I was writhing on the bed, he stilled and looked down at me, asking if I was still sure. If I still wanted this. I nodded in confirmation, hoping that that was what he wanted. All I knew was that I didn't want him to stop and he had.

Without any more warning, he plunged a finger into me, going deep, unrelenting. I bucked up into his finger encouraging him to keep going. He added another finger and licked up my belly to again encircle my breast with his mouth.

I could feel myself falling, so close to that elusive edge. I wanted it badly, but I really wanted to jump together.

"Wait Ric, stop."

I stood up and pulled him up quickly. I was standing there completely naked and I wanted him to be the same. Without waiting any longer I ripped his shorts open and pulled them down.

He was a beautiful specimen of humanity. Unlike Stefan and Damon who were fountains of eternal youth he was muscled and had enough hair on his body to be accepted as a man by any standard. He was rugged and masculine and everything I wanted right now.

I reached for him and he let me, closing his eyes against my touch. He was breathing heavier and heavier as he opened half lidded eyes at me. He was fully erect in my hand and beginning to leak. I smoothed a thumb over the head, spreading the liquid.

With a hitch in his breath, he removed my hand and placed me back on the bed. Looming over me, now fully naked, he asked one last time "Are you sure?"

I nodded. Of course I was sure. I just took off his pants didn't I?

He guided himself in slowly and gently, completely out of character against the last hour or so.

Once he was in completely, he paused and kissed me gently on the lips. "I think I might love you, Elena Gilbert."

Then he started moving. He was not soft or gentle anymore. It was hard and fast and rough and I wanted to scream out loud. There was so much pleasure, combined with quite a bit of pain too. It was like he knew how to hold me over the edge so I wouldn't come until he was ready, but built the anticipation up exponentially on the ride.

I clawed at his back, not quite hard enough to draw blood, but he definitely felt it. I could feel his muscles moving frantically under my hands and feel him pulsing deep inside of me.

I wanted to hold on to this forever but I wanted to let go so badly at the same time.

He reached down between us and rubbed furiously at the little magic button.

I couldn't help it, I screamed as I came, clawing and scratching at him as he kept pumping into me. Only a few seconds later he followed.

We both lay there, out of breath and panting for a good few minutes before we could say anything.

Ric looked over at me in all seriousness and said "Sooo, how's that weather?" He raised both eyebrows at me and smirked. I let out a little giggle.

What a goofball. I had to give it to him, perfect icebreaker.

I just hoped Jeremy wasn't home. Wouldn't want him to have heard anything inappropriate.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hi Guys, thanks for reading.

Extra thanks for my brand-new Beta **Someryn!**

As always, TVD belongs to LJ Smith and the CW, not me!

**Breaking the Boundaries Chapter 8**

So, I had sex with Ric. Where he told me he _thinks_ he_ might _love me.

I know it is stupid to obsess over these things, but I can't help it. Isn't there some kind of rule that anything a guy says while he is on top of you doesn't count?

He left me about an hour ago to do some mysterious vampire business with Damon. If I wasn't so preoccupied with my own thoughts I would have argued that I should be included in all said vampire business that involved Damon, especially if it was about Stefan.

We still have to have "the talk". Ric was very adamant that we would be doing exactly that once he got home. I honestly do want to talk all these things through with him and work out our future, but I am scared that he doesn't see a joint "Elena and Alaric forever" future. There are so many obstacles in our way, things I don't even want to think about, let alone talk about.

What if he gets home and says "Thanks Elena, today was fun. How about I just be your dad again now and forget this ever happened"?

What if he is way too serious? What if he wants to get married? I'm too young to settle down right now, but Ric is at perfect 'settling down' age.

What if he's right about Damon and he kills Ric for sleeping with me? He wouldn't even come back to life without his ring.

The mess of what ifs and possible worst case scenarios swirled around in my head, before a useful thought finally came to me.

I could give Ric back his ring! John had left it for me, but I couldn't wear it. Then I would feel a lot safer when he went off with Damon.

Jeremy and I had dinner almost ready when Ric got home that night. Fortunately for us, Jer seemed to be completely oblivious to what was going on with us. He was just happy to not be working at the Grill.

"Hey Ric, what's up?" greeted Jeremy as he came through the door.

"Oh you know, the usual. Hunting vampires, slaying dragons," Ric quipped back. "How's the Grill treating you? Learning how to make an honest living? Patriotic duty, etcetera."

I loved it when these two got into it like this. It made me feel at home. Like there weren't monsters hiding under all our beds.

Jeremy remained blissfully ignorant and jovial throughout dinner before he commandeered the lounge room to play some racing game. I started on the dishes while Ric cleared the rest of the table.

I had my hands in the water and was soaping up a plate when I felt his arms go around my waist from behind. I stiffened. Jeremy was_ just_ there! What was he thinking?

He removed his hands. "Elena, what's wrong?" he demanded. He looked like someone had kicked his puppy. I think I could rule out the "he wants to forget it ever happened" scenario.

I sighed. This conversation was not going to be fun. "Right now? It's Jeremy. He's in the next room! What if he sees something?"

"You're right," he acknowledged. "I think you should finish up in here, then we should go for a walk, get out of the house. Go somewhere that we are less likely to be overheard." He lowered his voice seductively. "Somewhere we can make out without being seen." He winked at me and joined Jeremy in his game as I tidied the kitchen.

Well. Not sure how to react to that one. I could feel excitement building up though, as much as I wanted to put a stopper on it all until I knew where he stood. I wanted to run through the woods naked screaming, "He loves me!" like the teenage girl that I was.

But this was my life and nothing ever went the way I planned. I just had to hurry up with the stupid dishes!

I hurried into the lounge. "Ric, you ready to go?" I asked excitedly. Too excitedly. Jeremy looked up in curiosity but thankfully didn't ask.

* * *

As we left the house I went to turn right on the footpath, but Ric held my arm to stop me.

"I thought we were going for a walk!" I exclaimed as he beeped open his car and bundled me in.

"We were, but then I remembered this is Mystic Falls and how many things go bump in the night here." True. I couldn't argue against his point, but now there was an awkward silence that reminded me of the last time we were in the car together.

"So," I began awkwardly, "I don't really know what to say. I don't know what you want from me and what I can give to you." I was rambling. I could hear myself but couldn't stop the words coming out of my mouth.

"Well," he said slowly, "there are a lot of decisions we have to make, and we have to make them tonight. The first question," he looked at me pleadingly, "is what do you _want _to give me? If you want nothing to do with me then there really isn't anything to say or anything I can do."

"No!" I exclaimed, slightly louder than I had intended." I don't want nothing to do with you. I don't want to lose you." He started to pull over. "Why are we stopping, we're literally in the middle of nowhere."

He pulled the car to a complete stop, turned it off and undid his seatbelt. "I wanted to kiss you and I couldn't multitask," he murmured as he leant across the console towards me.

When I faced him I saw love and affection in his eyes. There was no hesitancy, no regret. I launched myself at him so hard our teeth clanged together.

"Ow," he said, rubbing his mouth. "I'll give you ten points for enthusiasm but I'll have to dock a few for execution."

I grimaced. Way to come off as an inexperienced teenager, Elena. I wanted to slap myself and then sink into the ground.

"Hey," he said softly, lifting my chin and sweeping the hair I was hiding behind off my face. He leant in slowly and touched my lips to his softly. Just as slowly, I responded until our innocent little peck turned into a soft and languid dance between tongues.

He drew back gently. "Now that we have established that neither one of us is repulsed by the other-" I giggled and punched him lightly - "I think we need to discuss what we want to do."

"I want to be with you," I rushed out.

He smiled. "I'm glad. However, that does complicate things somewhat. You do realise we can't have a normal relationship, right? I broke the law sleeping with you this afternoon. If anyone finds out, I will go to jail and you will be left without a parent _or_ a boyfriend."

I hadn't thought about that. "But I'm _nearly_ eighteen. In fact, my birthday is in less than a week. I don't think it counts."

"Oh, it counts. Age is age and I wasn't exactly thinking as clearly as I should have been today. In fact, I could have been accused of thinking with the _other head_" he explained. He looked pretty sheepish.

I giggled. "I never thought I would hear you talking like that." I leaned over towards him and whispered, "It's kinda sexy."

He looked slightly mollified at that. "Well the age thing isn't the only problem. I would lose my job for publicly dating a student, especially one that I was living with. Luckily, I don't have technical guardianship over you and Jeremy or it would be another thing to deal with." He paused. "Elena, there are so many reasons that we shouldn't be together. Are you sure that you can handle this? I have so much baggage." His words were saying no, but his eyes were begging for a yes.

I looked into his eyes and saw the tiniest bit of hope drowning in all the sorrow. Why couldn't he just let us be together? We could hide it for a bit until all those other things didn't matter anymore.

"Ric, _I want to be with you. _I don't care if we have to be secretive about it for a year. I can see a future for us, a life," my voiced dropped so it was almost inaudible, "kids."

He looked at me with so much hope and love for a minute before his face fell once again. "Elena, I was married to your _mother." _

Oh my god. Isobel. I could feel the panic rising within me. I would never have forgotten about her, I never could. But how could I have forgotten that they were _married? _How would that look if we got married one day? "I'm sorry your first wife died, but at least you got to marry her daughter!"

The panic I was feeling was reflected in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up." Panic escalating now. "I'm such an idiot. I should have known that you hadn't thought about it. That you wouldn't want to be with me, after having been with her."

He was looking like shit. He had basically given up on any idea of us ever working.

"Hold on a minute," I tried to catch my breath. "Who said I didn't want to be with you? I said I did only a minute or two ago. I had just temporarily forgotten about the Isobel connection. There are going to be things that we have to deal with that aren't going to happen overnight." I couldn't deal with this right now. "In the words of Scarlett, I'll think about it tomorrow. Right now, I just need you."

Relief and tentative hope was seeping into his features and his voice. "You'll put off thinking about it, just like that?" he asked incredulously.

"No, I will still think about it. But there are trials and tribulations in any relationship, we just happen to have more than usual. Before you start getting all hopeful however, you are going to have to think about ways to deal with my past relationships too. Everyone has baggage and between us, I think we've exceeded the allowed limit."

He sobered slightly at that, no doubt thinking about the Stefan situation.

"If I may make a suggestion," I interrupted his musings, "I think we should go home and sleep on it. Together. In my bed. We know we don't want this to end and we know we have to keep it a secret for now. We can work the rest out later, or along the way."

"Elena, I agree with the sleeping on it part, but we can't have sex. I can't consciously break the law. It's bad enough that we did it once."

I didn't completely agree, since no one would ever know, but if he felt strongly about it then I would respect his wishes.

As I lay in bed that night, I felt safe and warm, protected in the embrace of my top-secret, fully clothed boyfriend.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks everyone who is reading and following this story as it progresses. Even with so few reviews, the sheer number of readers on each new chapter is inspiring.  
**

**Special thanks to my beta Someryn for putting her time into correcting all my silly mistakes!  
**

**Disclaimer: TVD is not mine.  
**

**Breaking the Boundaries Chapter 9**

Day by day we were getting closer to being caught. Although we hadn't technically "done" anything since that first day, Ric had slept in my bed every night. We had to work out a more efficient system somehow. Last night we had forgotten to even make the couch _seem _slept on.

Jeremy, luckily, was as obtuse as ever and just assumed that Ric was bright eyed and bushy tailed enough to have cleared up the couch, even when he entered the kitchen bleary-eyed and still in sweats and a t-shirt. If I hadn't been so intent on keeping this such a massive secret, I would have been worried about his apparent lack of all skills of observation.

The hunt for Stefan still seemed never ending. Each time we get some kind of a tip off, there was only death and destruction left behind, with no sign of the homicidal vampires. It was apparent, however, that the victims were not random. Nearly all were friends and families of werewolves. It was a very difficult connection to make as werewolves are very secretive by nature and none of them actually were wolves themselves.

Damon was as determined as ever to keep me out of any and all excursions to track them. He had decided, as per usual, that this was too dangerous for me to undertake, even with him for protection. But it was so _frustrating! _I felt like I was the proverbial "damsel in distress"and that they had decided that I was helpless, having to be looked after by the men folk.

It had been the cause of more than one strongly worded _disagreement_ between Ric and me. He was torn, I could tell. On one hand, he wanted us to be equals in this relationship. We had discussed it and had agreed that while at school I would be nothing but compliant, but at home he was not my teacher and not my father. That he would always treat me as an equal.

On the other hand, it was within his nature to be protective and caring, especially for those that he loved. Admittedly, it was one of the qualities that most drew me to him. Due to his abysmal success rate in saving his wife and then girlfriend from both vampirism and death, I could understand him going a little too hardcore with me.

He roused me out of my thoughts, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Elena? I'm heading out now," he said nonchalantly, kissing my head on his way past me, a duffel clutched in one hand and his keys in the other.

"What? Where are you going? Ric, tell me the truth. We don't have secrets in our relationship, remember?" I said indignantly, adding a little girl foot stomp for emphasis.

He sighed. "I do remember, but do _you _remember when I said that it doesn't count if they aren't my secrets to tell? Damon has given me strict instructions that if I tell you where we are going, he will never tell me anything in advance again. I tried to explain it to him, but it's a little difficult to explain that you keep both my balls in your back pocket when no one even knows that we are together!" He looked so frustrated and put out about it but I couldn't help it. I giggled.

He stared at me for a minute, super unimpressed with my outburst. "Elena, not funny!" he ground out.

I giggled again and said from behind one hand "It kind of is," still stuck in the giggles. I saw one side of his mouth twitch up, quite obviously unintentionally.

"Woman!" he shouted, giving in to the comical side of the argument, "Give them back! I demand it. Until my wagon is hitched to yours, in public, I can't explain away being totally whipped by you," his tone was getting serious again. "_Especially _to Damon. "

I really, _really _couldn't argue with that. Despite my feminist and independence attitudes towards this particular situation, Ric was right. I couldn't be pressuring him to give up the goods. I would have to go straight to the source.

There was no point going over there now; Damon wouldn't be at the boarding house if they were going on a Stefan hunt. _But, _said a little voice in my head, _there might be more to discover at the house while he _isn't _there. _

It could be done, I knew. If he wasn't home then there wouldn't be anyone there at all. But self-righteous Elena poked her head in the mix. _It wouldn't be right to snoop through his things. What about the right to privacy? Even Damon deserves that. _Curious and worried Elena won out.

There was nothing of interest in the library. I had nearly finished searching Damon's room, _so, so wrong_, when I found his serial killer closet. Nothing could quite prepare me to see, tracked and mapped, exactly how many victims Klaus and Stefan had accumulated in the short months that they had been gone. What astounded me the most was how many of them were Stefan. A decent majority of them had a "Stefan" sticky note on them. The most prominent thought that came to mind was _why? _

I was still sitting there, in a state of shock, with the cupboard door wide open, eyes staring blankly, when Damon came across me. I didn't even look at him. My eyes weren't focusing, and I hadn't even heard him come in. I don't know how long he was there before he scooped me up in his arms and took me downstairs to settle into the lounge. I clasped the cold glass he shoved into my hand like a lifeline. My senses started to return after the first swallow. My taste buds had returned by the second.

"Blech," I spat, choking on the offending liquid. "What is that?"

"Scotch," he returned offhandedly, before narrowing his eyes at me."Please explain," he started ominously," exactly how it is that I came to find you practically catatonic in my bedroom?"

He took another unnecessary breath as though to calm himself. "Why did you do it?" The pity in his eyes was obvious. Almost unbearable.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked sullenly. "I knew Stefan was off the rails, I know I'm not getting him back. I knew you were keeping things from me." I paused and sniffed back those tears that threatened to spill. "Why didn't you tell me how bad it really is? Then I wouldn't have had to snoop into the biggest shock of my life. I was expecting to find an address, maybe a note. Not... not _that_, "I shuddered.

"Well, if I was me, which I am, I would say if you didn't run around snooping in people's closets then you wouldn't find any nasty surprises. But now isn't the time to get on my high and mighty horse of moral authority. You look like crap," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Great," I sniffed, "Super villain ex-boyfriend and I look like crap. My day keeps getting better and better."

His face softened. "How did you get here? Do you want a ride home? You need a good night's rest to get ready for the big day tomorrow," he said almost kindly, bordering on mocking.

Oh crap, I had forgotten about my birthday. "No, I can drive myself home."

Ric was waiting up for me at the kitchen table when I got home. I knew by the look on his face that Damon had called ahead to tell him. I didn't realise Damon even cared that much.

He gathered me up in his arms and sat back down with me in his lap. He held me there without saying a word for several long and comfortable minutes.

Eventually he opened his mouth. "Lucky Jeremy has already gone to bed, because this would be _very _hard to justify."

I let out a soggy chuckle against his chest. "Jeremy would understand. But he might want to know why you had to comfort me _while I was sitting in your lap." _

"Babe?" I looked up. "That's kind of what I meant."

Well didn't I feel stupid now. I could add that to looking like crap. Brilliant day.

"Can we please just go to bed now?" I pleaded. "Though my own morbid curiosity, I now know everything and wish I didn't. I don't want to think about anything anymore. I want to you to wrap me up and be the biggest, most badass teddy bear in the world."

"Sounds like a good plan to me."


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thanks to everyone who is still reading this! I am very sorry I've been so slack lately but life has been hectic and I just haven't had any time. This is a very short chapter that I felt I owed you guys at the very least. Next week I should have a little more time and hopefully will have a much longer chapter or a few short ones.

Many thanks to my Beta **Someryn**!

* * *

Breaking the Boundaries Chapter 10

Like every morning this week, I woke up feeling warm, safe and loved wrapped up in the man that I love. Also like every morning this week, I felt a gentle prod in my back from Ric's customary morning condition.

I felt him stir slowly awake and move his lower half so only his arms held me. I rolled over to face him directly and smiled softly up at him. "Hi," I whispered softly.

"Hi," he whispered roughly back. I snuggled into his chest, while he wrapped an arm around my back and incorporated me into his morning stretch.

I placed a few kisses down his chest and I felt him harden a little further, causing him to roll even further away.

"Elena..." he warned in a low voice.

I grinned up at him then, more light-hearted than I had been in weeks.

"You're forgetting something, Ric." He paused comically, straining to remember whatever it was that he had forgotten. I practically _saw_ the light bulb go off in his head. He was now sporting a shit-eating grin identical to mine.

"Happy Birthday, princess," he congratulated before flipping me onto my back.

It was a happy birthday indeed.

* * *

Caroline was driving me nuts. The only reason I agreed that she could throw me a party in the first place was to stop the crazy begging and half-disguised suggestions. What a mistake that was. She repaid me with a litany of questions, decisions to make and other time-consuming tasks in which I had no interest whatsoever.

I had only one request for her: to keep it small.

However, when I came downstairs on Damon's arm, it became evident that she had ignored this completely. There were so many people here! I didn't even know half of them!

Once I realised that the party was not all about me, I calmed a little. I could pretend it wasn't about me at all! If I had a drink I could, anyway. After only a half cup of unidentifiable but fruity and potent alcohol, I was not ready to come across Jeremy smoking pot again. I thought he had cleaned himself up.

Caroline had her problems and I had mine.

* * *

I found Ric and Damon outside away from the teenagers. I could hear Ric whining about being a bad chaperone and how parents would hate him. If only they knew! Ha! I took a swig of Damon's drink, only to instantly regret it. Scotch again.

In for a penny, in for a pound, it was my birthday, after all. I stole Ric's drink and signed in the slow warm after burn that came with good quality booze.

They both looked at me quizzically, Ric putting his hand out for his drink back.

I smirked half-heartedly and shook my head at him. "This is the first good drink I have come across so far, no way I'm giving it up." I sighed resignedly. "Jeremy is smoking again. Can you talk to him, please? He looks up to you," I asked Ric.

As I walked away I heard Damon mockingly say, "You're screwed."

That was much funnier than he knew. I was sorely tempted to turn around to see Ric's reaction, but I knew it would ruin the effect of walking away. I'd also be busted for eavesdropping.

* * *

After another hour or so of pointless high school partying (when had I become so _old?)_, I found Ric and tried to convince him to come home.

It didn't take much, just a nip on his ear and he was busting to get out of there. I'm not sure whether it was the idea of what lay at home for him or the idea of someone seeing his current situation with me, but he seemed pretty motivated to leave.

We crossed the threshold of my bedroom kissing furiously. There was a struggle to tear each other's clothes off as fast as possible without breaking contact.

I was down to my underwear when my phone buzzed next to me.

Unknown caller.

The temptation to just ignore it was extraordinary.

"Answer it," Ric said resignedly, slowly withdrawing his hands from around my back. He sat back on the bed and looked at me pointedly.

I knew who it was, but it didn't make the decision any easier. I finally picked it up and held to my ear delicately. "Hello?" I asked with trepidation.

No reply. Not even breathing on the other end. Definitely a vampire, then. "Stefan?"

Still nothing.

"Stefan, I know it is you." I heard a breath being taken at the other end of the line.

"Stefan, please come home. I love you, Damon loves you. Hold on to that."

Dial tone.

As I put down the phone again, I turned to Ric, only to see his face twisted into a look of defeat and disappointment.

Dread filled me as I realised his interpretation of the conversation.

"No! Ric, I love you!" I grasped his face between my hands and looked down into his eyes, hoping to convey the truth.

"It's just, I still want Stefan to come home and be back to normal. I'll always love him, but I am _in love _with you. Don't you doubt that for a second. His coming back won't change our relationship," I said earnestly.

"Of course it will, our relationship is constantly evolving, it's still new," he replied. "But I believe you. I know you won't leave me for him." He held out a hand and drew me towards him. "I love you, Elena." He settled down into bed with me tucked into him. "Happy Birthday, princess. Good night."

Well, I guess Stefan had killed the mood.

But as I lay there, I knew that while sex was essential in any strong relationship, so were moments like this. Moments when he held me like I was made of the finest china and I felt more loved than I could ever remember being before.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Hi guys and thank you to everyone who is still reading.

As you may have noticed, I am terrible at writing summaries and the current one is really no good. If anyone who has been reading so far can think of a new and better one, could you please PM me? It would be much appreciated.

Definite spoilers for 3x02 : The Hybrid

I have taken a lot of dialogue straight from the episode and fitted it in where I could with this storyline. Now that all the dates align with the episodes, I intend to do this as much as possible.

As much as I love Delena, they will never be endgame in this story.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, dialogue etc. are the property of their respective owners. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

Extra special thanks to **Someryn **my beta!

**Breaking the Boundaries Chapter 11**

I woke up the next morning with a newfound resolution. I was _going _to find Stefan, and I knew just how to do it. They were hunting werewolves and I just happened to know a brand new baby werewolf that had started making tracks in that community.

Tyler was slightly reluctant to give me any information, though I'm not really sure why. Was he, like everyone else, trying to protect my from myself and any stupid decisions? Or was he trying to protect the wolves?

Nevertheless, I managed to get out of him the most likely location of the pack Stefan and Klaus were currently hunting.

Now I might be blind when it comes to protecting the people I love, but I like to think that I'm not stupid. Going to the known location of a pack on the full moon was a little risky, I could admit, but if I waited until tomorrow the pack would disperse, and I would miss my chance with Stefan. Convincing Ric to come with me wouldn't be that difficult, it would be persuading him that _I _needed to go, too, that I'd have to fight him on.

I got home with one mission on my mind and had no intentions of letting anyone change that.

Ric was sitting at the kitchen counter swilling the dregs of his coffee slowly with one hand. I didn't want to interrupt his pensive moment, but I needed his help.

I slowly approached him from behind and dropped a kiss to the side of his neck and ran my hands through his hair from his forehead to the crown. His body relaxed beneath my hands and he shifted his weight back to lean into me.

It would be so easy to just spend the whole day touching him and forget that vampires and werewolves and all their associated problems even existed. I could see a normal future stretching in front of me, with lazy Sunday mornings reading the paper in bed and picnics in the woods with our kids.

Unfortunately, he decided to break through my peaceful moment.

"Elena, have you talked to Damon yet today?" he asked in a voice that was altogether too serious for my liking. Disappointment and pain were peering through his features. My body tensed, bracing myself for inevitably more bad news.

"No," I started in alarm. "What happened?" I just knew something had happened. The feeling of dread and anticipation built in me as my fears were confirmed before I had even come around to accepting them.

He looked at me cautiously, as though deliberating whether or not it really was a good idea to tell me. "It's Stefan," he began hesitantly. Fears confirmed. What worse could he have possibly done? "He killed Andie." He let out on a breath he had been holding.

I couldn't believe it. Andie? Andie was dead? But, Stefan - how could he do this? How could he do this to me? How could he do this to_Damon? _

Ric's eyes were full of pity, with a tinge of his original shock still lingering. We had both liked Andie. She had been a good person and an excellent distraction for Damon. Although there was no chance that Damon had actually loved her, he had let her in, so he must have had_some _feelings for her.

Poor Ric. He and Jenna had become friends with Andie and Damon when they were a couple. He must have some kind of pain at the memories this had to bring up. I walked around to the front of his chair and sat down in his lap on the kitchen chair, head buried against his chest. He responded best to touch over words.

We had that in common, he and I.

"Ric, I want to stop this." He looked up with some vague interest, but it was obvious that he wasn't willing to end this moment and he didn't really want to think about taking any action right now. Nevertheless I had a plan, I needed him for it, and it would only work tonight.

"You and I both know that this isn't the real Stefan. He is still in there somewhere and we need to get him back." He nodded emotionlessly. He knew. This wasn't the first time we had had this conversation.

"I know where he will be tonight." This piqued a little more interest from him.

"Where?" he asked, paying more attention now.

"They are hunting werewolves in the mountains in Tennessee. There will be a whole pack there tonight for the full moon. If we can get in and out before the apex of the moon, then we will be completely safe. But we'll definitely arm ourselves just in case." My fight was coming back and reluctantly drawing his with it. A little too reluctantly.

"Elena, are you crazy?" he shouted. Unnecessarily, I might add. "You want me to go hiking through the mountains with you looking for a vampire, a hybrid and a whole pack of werewolves? On a full moon! Are you even listening to yourself?"

Well, I was listening to him and I could feel the anger slowly burning, wanting to lash out at him. I tried to remember that none of this was his fault, and he was just trying to protect me.

I took a deep breath, calming myself. "So are you coming with me or not?" I asked perfunctorily.

"I suppose if I don't go, you're just going to go alone?" I nodded. "Well, I guess I don't have a choice then, do I?" he acquiesced.

It took longer than I thought to get there. Ric was silent on the trip, obviously unhappy with the situation.

When we pulled into the clearing we would have to leave the car in, I sat in the car in silence for quite a few beats more than necessary.

I pulled the ring out of my pocket and held it out to Ric.

"Is that my ring?"

"Yes," I replied. "John Gilbert left it to me. I think that you should have it back."

Emotions were warring on his face. "If he left it for you, perhaps you should wear it," he said with determination building behind his voice.

I looked at him with exasperation. "Ric, the ring only works on humans. You and I both know that being the doppelganger 100% qualifies me as a supernatural being."

Let him think about that for a moment! "But then why..?" he trailed off.

"John left it for my children. It is a Gilbert ring and he was my father, after all." I really didn't want to have this conversation anymore. I wanted him to take the stupid ring, put it on his finger and then come back to life every time I made a stupid decision that accidentally got him killed.

"You should keep it for you children then," he argued ineffectively.

"Ric! If you die tonight, I'm not going to have any damned children, so just PUT THE GODDAMNED RING ON!"

Wordlessly, he took the ring and slipped it onto his finger. Was that so hard? Why did I have to be in love with the most stubborn man on the planet?

Damon showed up after only 15 minutes of hiking. I shot Ric a dirty look but refused to do so much as acknowledge Damon. He'd left me out of his search, so I was leaving him out of mine. Although, I did feel for him. I couldn't imagine he was taking the loss of Andie too lightly.

Predictably, Damon was pissed that I had kept him out of the loop, but unpredictably, he threw me headfirst into the lake at vampire speed.

I wasn't the only one who didn't appreciate this gesture. I surfaced from the water, coughing and spluttering just in time to see Ric stake Damon in the stomach. Although I appreciated the sentiment, it might have been a slight overreaction. But then again, Damon had deserved it.

"Get out of the water, Elena," Damon demanded. The power behind his argument was slightly belittled by the fact he was doubled over in pain, gasping for air that he didn't need.

"You put me in here, you get me out!" I retorted scathingly. I took another deep calming breath before continuing. "Damon, I'm not going home. You may have given up on him, but I haven't. Please, just let me find him. You gave up on him, Damon. I'm not willing to do that."

"I didn't give up on him, Elena. I faced reality. Now get out of the water," he demanded. Cocky bastard! He couldn't come here and order me around.

"No!"

"What's your big plan, Elena? Huh? You gonna walk through a campsite full of werewolves, roast a marshmallow, and wait for Stefan to stop by?" Damon mocked as he sloshed through the water towards me. God, he infuriated me. Smug, stupid pain in the ass. If Ric hadn't already staked him and there wasn't a chance we could use him at full strength tonight I would've staked him myself.

Breathe, Elena, breathe. "My plan is to find him and help him. Damon, this is the closest that we've been to him since he left. I'm not going home."

"Klaus thinks you died when he broke the curse. That makes you safe. This - this is not safe," Damon said emotively. Oh boy, here came the "Damon loves Elena and will do anything to protect her" emotions. _So_ not the time.

I tried to stay on subject. "I'm not leaving before we find him."

"It's a full moon tonight, Elena," he argued fruitlessly. Stating the obvious much?

"Then we'll find him before then." We exchanged a long look, one of our wordless conversations which allow much better communication than our pointless arguments. I looked up at Ric to see a pained expression cross his face. Was that resignation? He didn't think there was anything going on between Damon and me, did he?

I pushed him out of my mind for the time being, resigned to focusing on my relationship more once we were _not _in a life or death situation. "Damon, please?" I begged, changing tactics. Puppy dog eyes, combined with the wet and bedraggled look could really work wonders.

Eventually he gave in. "Okay, okay. But we are out of here before the moon is full and I'm werewolf bait," he conceded.

"I promise."

"Unless you wanna relive that whole deathbed kissy thing," he said. Oh god, Ric hadn't heard that, had he?

"I said, I promise," I quickly replied. No need to bring up things like that. I looked at Ric again and knew immediately that he had heard every word. A look of hurt flashed across his face before he went into full hunter mode. His face was carefully placed into a mask of indifference. I was in for a world of uncomfortable once we got home. I've seen him angry and I've seen him lose control, but this was the first time that I had gotten absolutely nothing. I knew then that he was hurt, but there was nothing right now I could do about it.

Ric picked up his backpack and shouldered it, keeping a crossbow in one hand and a compass in the other.

"This way," he said emotionlessly, leading the way without looking back or waiting for us to catch up.

We trudged through the mountains for a long time. It felt like hours but it was only long minutes of silence from Ric and endless chatter from Damon, who didn't seem to get that I wasn't in the mood for our usual playful banter. Sulking, Damon surged ahead to lead, leaving Ric to follow and me to bring up the rear.

I slowly caught up to Ric and gently slid my hand into his as we were walking. It was almost comical watching his war with himself. He settled on emotionless, but I saw the slight twitch of his lip into a half smile. He didn't drop my hand from his however, and I felt him squeeze me gently, as if reassuring himself that I was actually there.

Damon turned around to give us an update. Apparently we were getting close. He looked suspiciously at our intertwined hands. Ric dropped me liked I had burned him.

Surprisingly, I was impressed by not only his lie, but the delivery and the nonchalant tone he perfected. "Elena tripped over the last five logs she had to climb. I thought that instead of announcing our presence to the forest with her clumsiness, she could use a hand with that one," he explained.

"If Elena is so clumsy, perhaps I should carry her?" Damon smirked.

I scowled at him. "Damon, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself. I just thought Ric was being a gentleman." I shot Ric a glare for Damon's benefit, but once he turned away it turned into a grin.

We came across our first hybrid after only a few more minutes. The man, or werewolf, looked awful. He was covered in blood and delusional. Unfortunately not delusional enough to miss the presence of a vampire.

He attacked Damon in full force before we managed to subdue him and get him tied up.

"These ropes aren't gonna hold him much longer. What else do we have?" Damon asked. The hybrid was struggling, seeming almost as strong as Damon.

I ruffled through Ric's arsenal, finding the vervain. Wolfs bane had worked on him, let's see how he handled vervain. After thoroughly soaking some more ropes in vervain, hoping it would actually work, I held them out to Ric.

"Ric, here. Take these" I instructed. I had no intention of going within arm's reach of the hybrid and even if I did, neither of these two Neanderthals would allow it.

"Aah! Ow!" yelled Damon.

I looked up to see Damon pulling his hand back away from the ropes in pain.

"I said Ric." I told him unapologetically. Maybe next time I told him to do something he would pay more attention. Ha! Unlikely.

Ric had the hybrid secured against the tree covered head to toe in wolfs bane and vervain. I was feeling quite smug. We had, in our possession, one of Klaus' hybrids. Now all we needed to do was get him talking before the full moon.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

Right in front of our eyes, the hybrid screamed in pain and started twisting and contorting beneath the ropes.

"Is he turning?" Damon asked what we were all thinking, but none of us wanted to believe.

No, he couldn't be. Werewolves only turned on the full moon and especially not during the day. I voiced my thoughts aloud. "It's impossible. It's still daylight." But I was seriously doubting myself.

"Tell him that," Ric commented. "You know, those ropes aren't gonna hold the wolf."

Panic was beginning to set in. We were supposed to be out of here before the wolves changed! All my arguments for staying were depleting. I was no longer armed to the hilt, we had used nearly all of our supply on this hybrid and here he was going to turn anyway! "There aren't supposed to be werewolves out here until the moon is full" I exclaimed.

He was snapping and snarling at Damon now. Damon! He was next to useless against a wolf on the full moon. He might hold his own in the actual fight, but one bite and it was all over for him. The memory of him lay dying was too fresh in my memory for me to take this lightly. The reason Stefan was here at all was to save Damon from a werewolf bite.

"Damon, we've got to get out of here. We gotta get out of these mountains now! Damon, now!" I screamed. Full blown panic mode now. The only calming thought I had was that Ric was safe. Even if he died tonight, he would come back.

We ran as fast as we could towards the car, me being the weakest link in the proverbial chain. I wanted to Damon to run ahead and leave us behind, but I knew he never would. He was the most at risk but he stayed with me to protect me.

Running at full speed through the forest, I pulled a typical damsel in distress move and tripped. Moving to get up as fast as I could and keep going, I was stopped abruptly by Damon's voice.

"Don't move," he demanded. It wasn't the command in his voice that scared me, it was the fear.

I froze, but slowly lifted my head to look at Damon, intending a questioning look. Unfortunately, it wasn't Damon that I came face to face with. Staring straight into the eyes of the wolf I was paralysed with fear. I didn't know where to look, how to move, what to do. It moved its gaze from me to Damon and back again, as if deciding who to kill first.

Damon was the first to react.

"Here doggy, doggy," he mocked, before dashing off into the forest at a breathtaking speed. The wolf paused for a split second in indecision before speeding off after him.

"Come on. Let's keep moving," urged Ric.

I paused, torn between fighting for my life and fighting for my beliefs. "We can't leave Damon," I argued. Abandoning Damon in the mountains full of werewolves on a full moon after he had just saved my life was not something I could be comfortable with.

"He can handle himself. Let's move!" Ric demanded.

"No. If he gets bitten, he'll be dead! I'm the reason he's out here!"

"_I_ am the reason he's out here," he argued forcefully. "I told him where we were, and I'm telling you to keep moving. Let's go. Elena, now!" I hesitated for a split second longer before my senses returned. What good could I possibly do Damon, or Ric for that matter, by staying here in the woods? The quicker I returned to the car, the quicker Damon could leave with us.

I took hold of Ric's hand - I was not going to fall again - and ran with him as silently as possible.

By the time we reached the car, I was breathless and panting, feeling the aftershocks of all the adrenaline pumping though my veins.

Ric beeped open the car and physically deposited me in the passenger seat, before going around and hopping in the driver's seat. He locked the doors and let out a breath he must have been holding.

He turned to me and I saw the worry and fear in his gaze as his eyes ran over me. I was not sure if he was checking for injuries or just making sure that I really was there alive, but he obviously wasn't fully reassured. He hauled me halfway across the console and attacked my mouth with his. It was rough and painful, but everything I needed in that moment. His hands never stopped moving, touching every part of me he could reach from the awkward position.

Gone were his gentle caresses, his loving touch. This was violent and needy.

I pulled away slowly, trying to catch my breath. I could feel the bruises forming underneath my skin already, but I didn't regret it for a second. Ric would have matching bruises tomorrow, I wasn't exactly gentle.

"I'm sorry Elena, I shouldn't have mauled you like that" Ric apologised, not looking very sorry at all from the half smirk on his face.

I smirked back. "It takes two to tango, baby," I said as I cupped the side of his face softly. I kissed him lightly on the lips before sitting back in my own seat.

The adrenalin had settled enough to stop us acting solely on hormones, but my fear and worry for Damon had not diminished. I can't believe I have been safe in the car making out with Ric while Damon has been out there fighting for his life on _my _whim.

I heard a noise outside the car and saw Damon trudging across the clearing towards us. I flung my door open as quickly as I could and strode towards him. I was about to give him a bone-crushing hug, but he stopped me abruptly.

"Are you okay? Did you-" I started to ask, but he cut me off.

"Fine, bite-free. Get back in the car, please," he brushed off with his usual derision.

"Can you just give me a minute to appreciate that you're not dead?" I asked him. What was wrong with him? I thought he liked my attention? Maybe I'd overestimated his affection for me.

"I'll give you 10 seconds. 9, 8..." he commanded. "Hey, Ric, did you happen to see where I parked my car?" Ok, maybe he just wanted to get home and away from this place. I could understand the sentiment. I'm not particularly fond of it myself after tonight.

He rough handled me into the car, touching on the bruises that belonged to Ric. He wasn't allowed to touch them. "Damon, stop being such a caveman."

As Ric started the car and made to drive off, I could have sworn I saw Stefan standing on a bluff, looking straight towards us. But when I took a second glance, all I could see were trees.

"Seriously?" I asked Damon, who was standing in my bedroom when I came out of the shower. This creepy stalker thing had to stop.

"I was wrong," he acknowledged. Wrong about what? He wasn't making any sense whatsoever. When did Damon ever admit to anything, least of all being wrong about something?

"Are you drunk?" I questioned, trying to make sense of his sudden introspection.

"No. I thought Stefan was gone, but I was wrong," he explained. What?

"You saw him out there? Damon, is he okay?" I rushed out. Relief flooded me. I wasn't a complete idiot for risking everything.

"No, he's not okay, Elena. He's an insufferable martyr that needs his ass kicked... But he can be saved." What had he done? Damon didn't look particularly happy about this.

"What happened out there? What changed your mind?" I asked.

"I changed my mind because even in his darkest place, my brother still can't let me die. So I figure I owe him the same in return. I'll help you bring him back," he conceded. Stefan had saved Damon's life? Again? So there was still hope for him. Relief flooded my body as I felt for the first time since Stefan had left that there was a chance.

"Thank you," I softly replied. If there was a chance to save Stefan, Damon would be the most important factor. I would need his help and his willingness to give it further strengthened the notion that the brother truly loved each other.

"But before I do, I need you to answer one question. What made you change your mind?" he inquired. Of course, Damon never wasted an opportunity to use a situation to his advantage.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused about the sudden subject change.

"You were so hell bent on staying on that mountain, then you just gave up. So what changed your mind?" he asked.

Was he crazy? Had he not noticed the hybrid turned right in front of us, trying to bite whoever was closest? "We were under attack, Damon," I replied.

"You had a bag full of weapons and a teacher with an eternity ring. You could have kept going," he prodded. What was he trying to make me say? Admit that I gave up on Stefan? I thought it was a little unfair, the situation changed and went from bordering on dangerous to downright crazy scary. The nonchalant way he referred to Ric as my teacher also struck a nerve.

"It was too dangerous," I explained. Understatement of the century.

"It was too dangerous going out there to begin with, so what was it?" he demanded. I finally understood. It was dangerous, but not to me. It was most dangerous for Damon. I had pulled out and fled the mountain, to protect him. Coming to this realisation was not exactly the most pleasant of epiphanies and now he wanted me to admit it out loud?

"Why are you being like this?" I whined, deflecting. When had I come to care about Damon? He was important to other people I loved. Stefan's brother, Ric's best friend. Without realising it, the monster had become a man a long time ago and weaseled his way into my heart.

"What changed your mind, Elena?" he pressed.

"I didn't want to see you get hurt, okay? I was... I was worried about you" I admitted. It was a weight off my chest to admit it out loud, but the relief was marred with shame and guilt. Was I betraying Stefan or Ric by caring about Damon? Or was I just allowed to care for him as a friend?

"Thanks." The cocky tone was back and he looked quite pleased with himself.

Roiling from the inner turmoil he had just created, I lashed out at him. "Yes, I worry about you. Why do you even have to hear me say it?" I shouted at his retreating back as he turned to leave.

All of a sudden he was too close. He leaned down to touch my face and I was torn between leaning into his touch and taking a few steps backwards. "Because when I drag my brother from the edge and deliver him back to you, I want you to remember the things you felt while he was gone. Good night, Elena."

I held my breath as he encroached on my personal space and cradled my head in his hands. I could feel the love and devotion radiating from his when he looked at me like that. Damn. What just happened. Did Damon think I had_feelings _for him? Did I?

Ric was halfway up the stairs when he saw Damon come out of my bedroom.

"How's it going, Ric?" Damon nodded on his way out.

"Know what you're doing there?" Ric asked me, obviously concerned. Was that jealousy?

I still hadn't had time to process all of the information that had been dumped on me in the last few minutes and all the emotions that had resulted from it.

I looked Ric directly in the eye, unable to lie to the man I loved. "No, I don't," I admitted quietly.

He looked taken aback, surprised that I would even admit to feeling conflicted about Damon. I tried to explain myself further. "He just, gets under my skin," I admitted.

"There's no point even asking if you care about him. I know you do." He cradled my face and smiled lightly, warmth in his eyes. "You care about him and that's okay. So do I. He's my best friend. He also happens to be not evil all the time, which definitely complicates the situation. In fact sometimes, like tonight, he can be downright selfless," he continued. His voice was soothing and I felt a little more justified in my feelings. But then one thought came to me and stupidly, I couldn't have just kept it to myself.

"He's in love with me," I blurted out. "He wants me to fall in love with him too and choose him over Stefan. He all but said so tonight."

A dark look crept across Ric's features for a second before it was gone, but his look was still intense. "Are you in love with him?" he asked gently, holding his breath while waiting for an answer. I thought about it, I didn't want to give Ric some instant denial. We were discussing this like adults and I didn't want to infuse the situation with unnecessary teenage drama.

"No, I'm not," I answered slowly and deliberately after careful consideration. "But I do care about him. It might be love, I'm not sure, but I know for sure that it is not Damon I am in love with." He looked slightly relieved by this statement, but was still cautious.

"Elena, are you attracted to him?"

I burst out laughing, which didn't help the current state of affairs.

Trying, unsuccessfully, to suppress my giggles I tried to explain my attraction. "Ric, I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't. He is possibly the most genetically blessed individual I have ever met in my life. He's gorgeous and charming, of course I am attracted to him. I know that isn't the answer that you were looking for, but the question you should have asked is if I am going to act on that attraction. The answer to that question is no."

I could see that he didn't quite know how to react to this. But relationships were about honesty, weren't they? I hadn't been in any stable and secret free relationships before this, but with Ric it was different, it was real.

"I...I appreciate your honesty," he managed to get out.

"Ric, if this is going to work between us, we can't have any secrets. If I let myself lie to you, it will only because I am lying to myself. I know I'm attracted to him and that will help me avoid any situations that could be problematic. If I was in denial, I wouldn't have any resistance," I justified. I don't think he bought it, but he looked slightly happier.

"I'm sorry Elena, I know jealousy isn't an attractive trait, but I'm having a little trouble with the fact that my best friend is apparently the sexiest man alive and my girlfriend is attracted to him. Add to that the fact that he is in love with her and you might see my dilemma."

"But Ric, you forgot some important details in that description. I'm in love with _you. _I'm committed to _you. _I am sleeping with _you." _I was standing so close to him by now I had to tilt my head back to look him in the eyes. I laced my hands together behind his neck to bring his face down to the level of my own, before softly pushing my lips against his.

He opened his mouth to me and slid his tongue against mine. I felt my feet leave the ground as he lifted me with hands cupped under my ass. Languidly, I wrapped my legs around him, pulling my body into his.

When I was slammed up against the bedroom wall, I felt every bruise on my upper body protest and revelled in the pain that it caused. Ric continued to plunder my mouth, nipping and sucking on my bottom lip then alternating soothing it with the flat of his tongue.

All of a sudden he stopped and pulled his upper body away from me, but kept me firmly wedged against the wall with his hips and legs.

"What did Damon mean about the deathbed kissy thing earlier?" he asked, obviously having just remembered it.

I sighed, knowing that our make out session would be over as soon as this discussion started and that the throbbing between my legs would not be attended to any time soon.

"I want to say that it was nothing, but it wasn't. We had a moment. We kissed," I confessed. I knew he didn't want to hear it, but it had to be said. This no lying thing brought up so many things that should just be forgotten and never mentioned again.

I knew the moment that it had registered as he took a hesitant half step away from me, sliding me down the wall to stand on my own two feet again. Once I was stable, he turned around to pace across the room. Definitely not a good sign. His hands were now in his hair and he was obviously having trouble processing.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. The emotions splashed across his face one after the other, pain, betrayal, understanding, anger, hurt and confusion.

"When? I assume it was when he was bitten by Tyler?" he gritted out between his teeth.

I nodded in confirmation.

"So that means you kissed him before you kissed me?"

I nodded again.

He looked ready to punch something.

I put a hand on his shoulder and felt him immediately tense then relax under my touch. "Ric, you just said it yourself. It was before I kissed you, as in history. I was still with Stefan technically."

"Technically?" he shouted, emotion getting the better of him. "Technically, you are _still _with Stefan. You never broke up and all we seem to do lately is try and save him." His hands were waving in the air by now. I wonder if he had any Italian in him, but now would be a really bad time to ask. "You kissed him because he was about to die?" Obviously we were back to Damon now. I was having trouble keeping up and I was the only one with the full story.

"Yes, he was about to die. He apologised for all he did to hurt me and I forgave him. He told me he loved me and he wished he'd met me when he was human because I would have liked him then. I told him I liked him just the way he was and kissed him. Katherine showed up, saved his life with Klaus' blood, which we are still paying for by the way, and told me that it is okay to love them both!" I shouted back at him.

Ric wasn't the only one having trouble controlling his emotions at the moment. The moment I looked at his face I knew I had said to much. My big girl pants weren't as reliable as I thought. Maybe there was such a thing as too much honesty in an adult relationship.

He looked like he wanted to say something for a moment, but then changed his mind.

He walked out of my bedroom and into Jenna's, closing the door behind him. The symbolism wasn't lost on me.


	12. Chapter 12

Hi guys,

Thank you to all for your patience and understanding for my extremely long break.

Thanks to my beta **Someryn **for being awesome as usual and picking through my many many mistakes.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.

Breaking the Boundaries Chapter 12

As I slowly regained consciousness the next morning, I thought that either the fight of last night was in fact a nightmare, or Ric had forgiven me and climbed back into bed during the course of the night. Either way, I was just happy that he was here, we weren't fighting and I could feel the weight of his body on the mattress next to me.

I stretched and snuggled into his chest, relishing the feeling of home and comfort before I had to open my eyes to the harsh light of day.

He felt strange however, his muscles more defined and compact and much less comfortable. The words he spoke were soft, as though coming from a great distance. "Rise and shine, sleepy head."

The voice was mocking and definitely not Ric's. Damon!

I sat up faster than I knew possible and threw myself away from him, towards the other side of the bed. My side of the bed.

"Aah! What are you doing?! Get out!" I yelled at him, breathless from fright.

"You know you were dreaming about me. Explains the drool," he taunted. Cocky bastard. He was hot and he knew it. It almost made him unattractive, so I should be grateful for his overinflated ego, I supposed.

" Ugh. Oh my God," I stuttered. There were no words for how disgusted I was at him. Hadn't he heard of a little thing called privacy? I was grateful that Ric hadn't stayed with me last night or we would have been caught red-handed.

Oh my God, Ric! I needed to get Damon out of my bed before Ric realised that he was here - for both his sake and mine. Imagine being caught in bed with the man who had been the cause of our fight in the first place.

I looked over at my alarm, partly for a reason to look at anything but Damon, partly as an excuse to kick him out.

"6:00 A.M., seriously? Do you really have nothing better to do at 6:00 A.M.?" I protested. I congratulated myself on timing and delivery. I think I managed to infuse indignation and frustration into my voice, keeping the fear and panic back. No need to blow our cover.

Damon looked simultaneously smug and childish and said, "Fine, don't come with me to bring Stefan home. See ya."

He made to get up and leave but being the idiot that I was, I couldn't stop myself from rising to his bait.

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. What? What are you talking about? Where is he?" I demanded, less worried about being caught now and more determined to end this with Stefan forever and return him to normal.

"Let's go to Chicago!" Damon sang as he rushed me out of bed.

After ditching Damon, I packed my bags as fast as I could. This was my second chance to see Stefan! Hopefully I could convince him to come home and get back on his bunny wagon. Worst case scenario, I could at least break up with him so that I was no longer technically cheating on him.

The road trip to Chicago was not exactly fun. Although Damon's wit was usually enough to defuse a bad situation, this time he was definitely not helping. His constant insistence that I read Stefan's diary was rude and annoying. Even if I were still dating Stefan, technicalities notwithstanding, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing this. There was no way that I was going to read Stefan's private thoughts and experiences now, especially considering the likely contents. I didn't need to get any worse visuals in my head than those I had already.

I lied to Damon, I knew I hadn't seen Stefan at his worst but I just couldn't bring myself to picture him like that. There was still redemption for him in my eyes, and I didn't want to destroy the last of my good memories of him by replacing them with these.

* * *

Arriving at Stefan's apartment, I couldn't have been more shocked.

"Stefan could live anywhere in Chicago, and he chose this?" I asked Damon.

Seriously? What happened to moody and broody Stefan, with his old world boarding house, priceless relics, dusty old books and the kind of class that comes with being born into money? This apartment was just...tacky. A sixties and un-renovated kind of tacky. No way I could imagine Stefan living here.

Damon shot back some witty comment about an all girls high school. Amateur.

"If you're trying to scare me into giving up and going back it's not going to work," I told Damon.

In truth I couldn't be more scared if I tried. Klaus was just about the worst creature that I had ever encountered and Stefan was shaping up to soon be just as bad. Let Damon think what he wanted about my motivations behind this.

Walking around his apartment, I couldn't imagine the Stefan that I knew living here. I was already beginning to rethink my faith in Stefan when Damon showed me the wall.

"Are these all his victims?" I let out on a gasp, but I was surprised this didn't make me feel worse. The list of names scribbled crudely on a wall was shocking to be sure, but there was a sense of finality that there were no more victims than this finite number, except for the recent ones, of course.

The fact that I was just relieved that it wasn't worse was a pretty good indication of my current feelings towards Stefan.

"Still handling it?" Damon remarked, obviously trying to shake me. I knew his purpose, or had at least limited the reasons down to a list of two. Either he was trying to scare me off Stefan to present himself as the safer and more humane choice, or he was trying to help my relationship with Stefan by helping me to brace myself for what I might see here in Chicago. His technique was working, but not in the way that he had intended it to. I would not be turning to Damon out of fear for his brother, nor would I attempt to tame the beast created by Klaus and bring him home into my arms.

My reasons for helping Stefan were simple. I loved him and I didn't want him to get hurt. Not by Klaus and not by his own actions. But I didn't want him back for myself.

* * *

I couldn't believe that Damon would leave me in an old smelly apartment to hatch a plan. Especially one that his brother owned and had access to!

Which brought me to my current predicament - hiding in Stefan's forbidden cupboard, holding my breath and sure that my frantic heartbeat would give me away any second.

For the first time, I was truly scared of Stefan. What would he do if he saw me? Would he kill me in front of Klaus? Omigod, what would _Klaus_ do to me? When this had all been hypothetical I hadn't realised just how terrifying hiding could be.

I could hear their voices getting nearer and nearer, and somehow I just knew that they would look in the cupboard. How they hadn't heard me so far was a miracle in itself.

I took a deep breath when the wall opened next to me. Surely this was close to the last breath I would ever take.

When it was Stefan I came eye to eye with instead of Klaus, I knew I had been saved. His expression said everything. His eyes showed surprise, then understanding, and I relaxed a little. But then he took in a deep breath and froze, cocking his head to the side a little as though listening intently for something.

Any trace of softness left his eyes and he stared pointedly at me, mouth open with shock and betrayal. His eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched.

I had no idea what was going on. Why did he look so mad? Hurt and betrayal flashed across his face for a second more before he smoothed his face into an expressionless mask. "Look what I found," he said to Klaus.

I think my heart stopped in that moment, my disbelief and feeling of betrayal warring with each other. I couldn't believe that Stefan was so far gone that he would give me up to Klaus like this. I thought his reaction had meant that he still cared and was trying to protect me.

Stefan pulled out a bottle of whiskey from the shelf next to me, passing it over to Klaus with satisfaction.

I sagged against the wall with relief, not sure how much more tension my body could take. I felt like I wanted to be sick, but held it in to avoid being caught.

* * *

I waited five minutes after they had left to be sure that they wouldn't hear me before dashing to the bathroom to empty my stomach of all contents.

By the time Damon returned my nerves were so strung out that I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or angry.

I settled on angry when I learned that he had been out buying me clothes for some hare-brained scheme of his while I was being practically discovered by Klaus.

"I had an hour to realise what a bad idea it was to leave you here alone, process it and move on," he growled between clenched teeth. I knew that he really did mean it and was probably more angry at himself than even I was.

* * *

I couldn't hear exactly what Damon and Stefan were arguing about after Stefan attacked him outside the club, but I knew when they both turned to me that it was my turn to do the convincing. Damon disappeared and I was left all alone to talk to Stefan.

Again, he had that stone-cold look in his eyes, and he looked at me with disgust and contempt. I think I even saw his lip curl a little.

He strolled towards me in a predatory way. "You shouldn't be here," he said casually. Almost too casually.

"Where else would I be?" I asked in confusion. Surely he knew that I would come looking for him?

"What do you want?" he asked coldly." Damon won't be able to distract Klaus for long."

"Come home," I whispered, edging closer as I tried for the best angle to stab him with the vervain dart.

Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough. He grabbed my wrist, almost breaking it with his strength. "How much clearer can I make it?" he growled menacingly. "I don't _want_ to come home." He turned away from me, running his hands through his hair in frustration while I stood there in stunned silence.

His rant continued. "What do I have to come home to, huh? You have more than obviously moved on." He sounded so broken, so desolate.

But how had he known? I couldn't say a thing, I was too shocked. He continued anyway. "At least I know it wasn't Damon. There's one humiliation you've spared me." He was pacing in front of me, working himself into a rage.

"How could you do this to me, Elena?" he suddenly bellowed, looking like a madman.

"At least you'll have the children you always dreamed of - even if you are a knocked-up high school whore," he spat.

This was the point where I lost him completely. OK, so I had technically cheated on him, and he could be pissed if he wanted to. But that last comment really threw me. "What are you talking about Stefan?" I asked him in a would-be calm voice, as though speaking to a particularly confused child.

He started laughing manically. He really had lost it. "You really don't know?" he asked incredulously.

"Know what, Stefan? Yes, I haven't been faithful to you. I know that we can't be together anymore. But that doesn't mean that I don't love you and I don't want you to come home," I told him in a voice that I thought was calm and polite, with a touch of humility. After all, I was admitting to infidelity.

The mad grin was still on his face. "'Know what?' Oh, this is classic."

He turned around still chuckling darkly. "Elena, I knew you had cheated on me the second I saw you today. I could hear the heartbeat, faintly but still present. You're pregnant."

I gasped and looked down at my stomach. No way.

"Yes way. I can't believe you cheated on me with a human," he spat venomously. I must have said that out loud.

I was speechless. _Pregnant_. What the hell was I going to tell Ric?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realise that Stefan was still talking, well yelling, really. When I looked up at him with confusion and tears in my eyes he seemed to deflate a bit. Lost in my own misery and guilt I hadn't noticed the tears in his eyes, too.

"I just want you to go," he let out on a breathy whisper, as though his voice might break if he raised it any louder.

I had never felt worse in my life. I had hurt him - I had really, really hurt him. I knew that he had wanted this for me, though. A life with children and growing old together. The comment about humans wasn't lost on me, and although it hurt, I knew he was just lashing out.

"So," said a cold voice from behind me after Stefan had left. "While we've been out looking for your boyfriend all over the country, you've been getting yourself knocked up, is that right?" Damon said scathingly, looking betrayed himself. "Who exactly do you deem worthy enough to cheat on Stefan with, huh?"

You would think that I had cheated on _him_ from the look of revulsion he was shooting me.

"I-" I began.

"Save it, Elena. We're going home."

AN: Thanks for reading. If you really want to read more, a review is the best kind of motivation a writer can be offered ;)


	13. Chapter 13

Wow guys, most reviews per chapter for me so far.

As thanks, I give you a quick chappie in return.

Thanks to **Someryn **for correcting all my horrible mistakes.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

**Breaking the Boundaries Chapter 13**

Pregnant.

Damon and I sat in stony silence for the most of the trip home.

What would Ric have to say? Did he even want kids? Would he lose his job for this? How would we support ourselves? Would he even talk to me after I took off for Chicago with Damon, after not talking to him the whole night? The thoughts just kept whirling around and around in my head.

Damon didn't look as though he was doing any better. His knuckles were white with the grip he had on the steering wheel, his jaw clenched as he stared resolutely straight ahead. He was going to break the steering wheel if he wasn't careful.

His voice weaved through the silence, interrupting my thoughts.

"I should have known. There has been something going on with your heartbeat for months. I just thought it was the stress of Stefan leaving and all. Who would have known that little Elena would have gone and found herself a jock?" He was taunting me, trying to get information without actually asking, and I for once was not going to give in to him. I had bigger fish to fry.

I knew Damon was pissed, and Stefan was too. But I didn't know how _I _should feel about it. A baby. What was I going to do with a baby? I wasn't exactly maternal. Or maybe I was. I'd never had anything to do with babies. I wondered what Ric was like with kids. He must like them to a certain point, becoming a teacher and everything.

I heard Damon's voice float through my thoughts. "You're going to be the one to tell Ric - I'm not gonna be the bearer of that bad news." I panicked. _What! _He knew that it was Ric's?

Damon continued, "Elena, how could you do this to him? He already feels as though he's failed his family enough, and now you go and get pregnant in his care." Relief flooded me. He didn't know anything. He just thought of Ric as a father figure for me.

Damon sounded disappointed but resigned, and his voice softened when he next spoke. He took his eyes off the road and held my chin in his hand, forcing me to look him in the eye. "Elena, as hard as it is going to be for you at your age, I really am happy for you. Dating vampires doesn't exactly lend itself to procreation as part of the happily ever after. If you need help with anything, especially if your baby daddy doesn't man up, I am here for you. I love you, Elena, baby or not."

Tears welled up in my eyes at this unconditional love. I didn't deserve it from Damon. I sniffed, "Thank you," and sent him a watery half smile.

I turned forward again to face the road with new confidence. I had two things going for me now: Damon's support and the new power of a mother's love. I could face anything for my baby.

My self-assurance wavered slightly when we pulled up at my house to meet Ric glowering at the both of us. "Where exactly have you two been?" he barked at Damon, but looking at me.

"Oh, don't get your knickers in a knot, Ric," Damon said nonchalantly. "We went to see Stefan."

This did absolutely nothing to defuse the situation. Ric's face went even darker as he considered all of his options. He obviously settled on yelling.

"YOU DID WHAT? How could you put her in danger like that and not tell me, Damon? I trusted you." Anger was rolling off him in waves, thankfully aimed at Damon, for now anyway.

"You did exactly the same thing only yesterday, if I recall correctly, and you're _not_ a vampire and you _can't_ protect her as well as I can."

Uh oh, this was not going well. I could sense a pissing match brewing and wanted to end it before it began. I put my hand on Damon's chest and pushed him towards the door. "Damon," I said through clenched teeth, "I think that it's time for you to go. I need to talk to Ric and I need for you to not be here when I do."

He relaxed almost instantaneously and sent me a look that was laced with pity. "Fine." The door slammed behind him, leaving the house deadly silent.

I tried to avoid Ric's gaze, but I couldn't help it. I looked up at him in fear and sadness, unsure what he would do next and what he would say when I gave him my news.

I was startled out of my thoughts when his arms came around me to embrace me tightly. "I'm sorry," he mumbled into my hair, "I was jealous last night and then this morning you just left and I was so worried..."

"Hey," I soothed, stroking the area of his back I could reach from this position. "It's okay, I'm fine. Actually, I have some news for you," I continued with some trepidation.

He looked at me pointedly.

"It's kind of 'sit down with a stiff drink' kind of news, not 'standing in the hallway' kind of news," I said.

As we moved towards the lounge, I saw worry lines inch across his face, showing his true age for the first time since I had met him. He made to speak, but I held up a hand to shush him. "Please, Ric, just let me get this out." He nodded.

"I'm pregnant," I mumbled - just like that. It was definitely not how I had meant to say it.

He was in shock. "Pregnant," he repeated in a monotone voice. I couldn't look at him. I knew he wouldn't take this well.

But I couldn't avoid him forever. I glanced across at him through my lashes.

He was smiling! He started to laugh! He launched himself at me and swept me up in the tightest hug I had ever received from him. He could barely contain his excitement.

A smile crept across my face at his boyish exuberance. I didn't think he was upset with me.

"Oh, Elena." He kissed me and put me down on his lap. "I don't think I've ever gotten better news. I was expecting the worst. I thought you were leaving me for Stefan."

"Silly," I replied. "I already told you I wouldn't do that."

We still had a million and one things to talk about but we both went to bed happy that night.

_As said before, if you review I am definitely motivated to write ;) _


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